Women make up only 16% of the Portuguese Olympic universe. Athletics reigns supreme in terms of athletes and medals, and has won the fifth most golds in history. Of the 811 living athletes, 10% are unemployed and 5% live abroad. Of the 811 Portuguese Olympic athletes still alive, around 200 represented Portugal in athletics, the sport that has won the most medals in 113 years. In terms of clubs, Sporting is the one that has lent the most elite athletes to the country and also the one that has won the most medals. These figures are part of a study by the Association of Olympic Athletes for Portugal (AAOP), to which DN has had access, and which will be presented on the 8th in Matosinhos, during the 20th anniversary ceremony of the association led by Luís Monteiro, also an Olympian who took part in the pentathlon at the historic 1984 Los Angeles Games - the competition in which Carlos Lopes won the first Portuguese gold medal. The Olympic database was developed by the Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão (ISEG) and aims to answer the most frequently asked questions - where athletes are, what they do and who needs help. It was in order to reach those who are in a weak situation, whether financially, physically or psychologically, that the AAOP undertook a global survey of the athletes who have defended the national colors. It is now possible to know that the unemployed number around 10% and that around 5% live abroad, for example. Pensioners, doctors, coaches... Post-career is one of the AAOP's struggles. Created in 2003, the association continues to receive dozens of requests for help from athletes in difficulty. The unemployed number 10%. The retired, those who have become coaches and those who are self-employed account for half of all Portuguese Olympians. Not all of them have prepared for their farewell to competition and the institutions haven't provided any job opportunities. But there are many good examples. Alexandre Yokochi (58) is a university professor and energy efficiency researcher at Baylor University in the USA. In 1984, he became the first (and only) Portuguese to reach an Olympic swimming final - he came 7th in the 200-meter breaststroke. He retired from the pools in 1992 at the age of just 27 and went to Texas to study for a PhD, staying there until today. Gentil Martins is 92 today and was one of the founders of the AAOP. He became a renowned plastic surgeon and pediatric surgeon after participating in the shot put in Rome in 1960. Paulo Trindade (former swimmer) is an engineer in Oman and António Abrantes (former sprinter) is a university professor in Nancy, France. Sameiro Araújo (63) is a coach and vice-president of Braga City Council and vice-president of the Portuguese Olympic Committee. Rui Frazão (former judoka) is an engineer working in Germany. Francis Obikwelu (44) won silver in the 100 meters at Athens 2004, and is now a coach and businessman, linked to the SAD of Vitória de Setúbal. There are also those who have disappeared. Some by choice, others not so much. There are two or three cases in need of urgent financial help and only two uncontactable athletes: sprinters Lucrécia Jardim (52) and Luís Cunha (59). 100% of the gold is from athletics Portugal has been represented in 25 editions of the Olympic Games in 29 sports. Athletics is king and master. Almost a quarter of the athletes who have worn the gold medals have done so competing in athletics, a discipline that also dominates the medals table (11 out of 28), with 100% of the golds - Carlos Lopes (marathon, Los Angeles84), Rosa Mota (marathon, Seoul88), Fernanda Ribeiro (10,000 meters Sydney2000), Nelson Évora (triple jump Beijing2008) and Pedro Pichardo (triple jump Tokyo2020). These are, in fact, the only Olympic champions in Portuguese sport. Swimming is the second most popular sport, followed by sailing (the second most medaled sport, with four podiums), fencing and equestrian, which won its first medal in 1924 - a bronze, won by António Borges d'Almeida, Hélder de Souza Martins, Luís Cardoso Meneses and José Mouzinho d'Albuquerque. Shooting, rowing, judo, gymnastics and canoeing, which has gained prominence in recent years thanks to canoeists such as Fernando Pimenta (a double medal winner), are also among the most represented disciplines. In terms of medals, Portugal has 28 Olympic podiums: five gold, nine silver and 14 bronze. At Tokyo 2020, Portugal won a record four: Pedro Pichardo (gold), Patrícia Mamona (silver), Jorge Fonseca (bronze) and Fernando Pimenta (bronze). Sporting gave more athletes and medals Sporting was the club that gave Portugal the most athletes when it came to the Olympic Games. Following in the footsteps of athletics and the golden era of Moniz Pereira, the club from León was the most often listed on the admission forms, followed by Benfica and Belenenses. Sporting also won the most medals (5), followed by Benfica (3), FC Porto and CAP (2 each). Almost 50% of Portugal's Olympians are from the Lisbon region, which is also the municipality with the most representation, followed by Oeiras, Cascais and Porto. Vila Real and São Miguel are at the bottom of the list with less than half of the 1%. But quantity is not quality. Viseu saw the birth of Portugal's first Olympic champion, Carlos Lopes, but it is one of the districts that has given the country the fewest top athletes. Funchal is in the middle of the table and can be proud to have seen the birth of the athlete with the most participations. Now 44, sailor João Rodrigues has seven Olympic Games appearances to his name as an athlete and one more as an Olympic attaché (Tokyo 2020). He is currently a member of the Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP). Two pioneers have already died Women's participation began in 1952, 40 years after Portugal's debut at the Stockholm1912 Olympic Games. Gymnasts Dália Cunha, Natália Cunha and Laura Amorim were the pioneers - they competed in the individual applied gymnastics competition. After them, 135 more women (including three in winter sports) followed suit, but the female universe represents only 16% of Portuguese Olympians. Of the 138 women who represented the country in the world's biggest sporting competition, four have already died - sisters Dália and Natália Cunha, volleyballer Cristina Pereira and thrower Teresa Machado. The first women's medal didn't come until 32 years after Helsinki. Rosa Mota won bronze in the Los Angeles marathon in 1984 and is also the owner of the first gold (marathon, Seoul in 1988). Of the five medal winners from history, two are still active: Telma Monteiro (bronze in judo, Rio 2016) and Patrícia Mamona (silver in the triple jump, Tokyo 2020). The other two are Fernanda Ribeiro (10,000 meters, Sydney 2000) and Vanessa Fernandes (triathlon, Beijing 2008). isaura.almeida@dn.pt ShareShare on FacebookTwitterEmailWhatsappShare At Diário de Notícias, dozens of journalists work every day to produce the news, interviews, reports and analyses that ensure readers receive accurate information. This has been the case for over 150 years, as we are the oldest national newspaper. To continue doing this "service to the reader", as our founder wrote in 1864, we need your support. Subscribe to your newspaper here Comments [Additional Text]: Where are the athletes who represented Portugal and what are they doing?