Revista de Medicina Desportiva (English) November 2018 | Page 4

Rev. Medicina Desportiva informa, 2018; 9(6):2
very healthy lifestyle and to avoid a lot of
things throughout our life.
How do you feed a body that can’t be
heavy, but it needs a lot of energy to
train?
Inês Henriques
World champion of the 50 km athletic march
You graduated as a nurse, but
being a race walker is your
passion, isn’t it?
The athletic march since very early
became a priority in my life, but my
parents never let me to neglect the
studies and from the beginning I
understood how important was to
have a profession to be readier for the
post-career. I decided to graduate as
a nurse because I enjoyed the health
area and also because of the proximity
of the school, which made possible the
sports career and the learning process.
How this like commitment and
dedication arouse?
The track and field came up on my life
when I was 12 years old, in 1992. On the
beginning I just ran some local races in
the county of Rio Maior and, later, I tried
the sports march because there was a
big group of kids practicing under the
influence and motivation of a junior
world champion Susana Feitor (1991).
The commitment and dedication always
existed, but in the first years my coach
Jorge Miguel only let me train three times
/ week … but as far as I was concerned,
I’d have trained every day.
How much and how do you weekly
train?
I train twice a day, 12 to 13 weekly
sessions. The morning train is athletic
march and specific, and the rhythm and
the number of kms varies on a daily
basis. I also go to the gym to reinforce the
weakest parts of my body and for injury
prevention. The afternoon training is to
recover, and I can do march, running,
elliptical and running in the pool.
To be the best in the world requires
much care. Tell us some?
Yes, it is necessary to have some care
about nutrition, recovery, rest, to have a
2 november 2018 www.revdesportiva.pt
Normally I don’t have any problems with
the weight on the 50 km race I need to
have some reserves by the fact the race
lasts 4 hours. I try to have a balanced and
varied diet, which is something I always
have done at home. I do my meals at the
Sports Center of Rio Maior, where there
is nutritional support and the meals are
thought and adapted to the athletes.
How do you train the psychological to
be a winner?
It is very important to work all the
psychological aspects. I already worked
with two psychologists and whenever
I need support, I ask them for it. But
for me it is important to grab the tools
that both gave to me and to find inside
me what motivates to overpass the less
easy moments and to work every day
these aspects. When I’m preparing a 50
km competition, I try to conciliate the
physical training with the psychologi-
cal training, during the long and specific
trainings, trying to do the same routines I
do during the competition.
50 km race because he knew I could
make the difference in that distance
because of all work that was done during
my career.
And the family?
My family is not the kind to follow me in
the races, but they are always supporting
me a lot and they are always my shelter,
whatever is the result! What’s the most
important for me of all my last achieve-
ments is to feel that my parents and the
rest of the family are proud of their “little
girl”.
And the medical support has been
enough?
Fortunately, it got better during the
last years. I have medical support at
the sports center in Rio Maior, from the
Olympic Committee of Portugal, I have a
physiotherapeutic in Rio Maior and I’m
also supported by a nutritionist. When a
problem can’t be solved in Rio Maior or I
need to make some medical exams, I ask
for support at the medical department
of the Portuguese Federation of Athlet-
ics, that sometimes can give an answer
as fast as needed. Because of repeated
physical problems we had to include in
the team another physiotherapeutic to
give me support in the training camps
and competitions.
In all of this, the coach is certainly a
very important person…
With no doubt, Jorge Miguel is my master.
If I am an athlete, it is because of him.
We’ve been working together for 26 years,
we have very similar ways of living and,
although we don’t agree in all, we cer-
tainly trust in the work of each other, and
we both have the same objectives, that
are do more and better. He challenged
me to be the first world recordist on the
After being world champion, what
motivates you, what is the next goal?
After the achievement of the European
and World champion titles, first I have to
fight to include the women 50 km race
in the Olympics and, if I succeed, I want
to work to get a medal at the Olympic
games in Tokyo in 2020.