Abutres 2019 Trail World Championships Opening Ceremony

Coimbra receives, with open arms, the 2019TWC Opening Ceremony: 5 Continents, 52 National Teams and more than 500 athletes, with their representatives

Portugal is, in these days, the World Capital of Trail Running, hosting the 2019 Trail World Championships, a track included in Trilhos dos Abutres, which will take place on June 8 in Miranda do Corvo.

Today, on June 7, at 11 a.m. in Coimbra, there was an atmosphere of enthusiasm on the streets with the parade of the 52 national teams. The teams and their representatives started at Largo da Portagem, from where they paraded to the Praça do Comércio, where the opening ceremony was held.
The spirit of the athletes was contagious and extended to the locals and supporters, who applauded and celebrated together.

All the delegations took the stage before the highest representatives of the Championships’ organizers and sponsors, and filled the event with color and animation with their festivities from who starts, on this day, the ‘race’ for the goal.

This was followed by the protocol speeches with the President of the Portuguese Athletics Federation – Jorge Vieira, President of Tourism Center of Portugal – Pedro Machado, Vice President of the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) – José Carlos Santos, President of International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) – Nadeem Khan and the Coimbra Mayor – Manuel Machado.

José Carlos Santos, vice-president of ITRA, addressed mainly to the athletes and mentioned that all sacrifices, long hours of training, moments stolen from family and friends had a purpose, and that purpose was that they could represent their country in this great event . Nadeem Khan, IAU president, thanked everyone for being part of the biggest championships they have ever had, and lastly, the Mayor of Coimbra showed his pride in hosting the event and declared the Championships officially open.

At the end of the protocol ceremony, we heard the National Anthem by the voice of Professor Francisco Reis, followed by the group Fado ao Centro, that presented the traditional Fado of Coimbra.

To conclude, nothing more appropriate than the Vulture’s Anthem, “The Vulture Woke up”, by the voice of Miguel Tiago, who brought to all those present a moment of great relaxation, joy and enthusiasm.

It is considered, therefore, open this epic event!

The Vulture Woke Up!

“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙀𝙋𝙄𝘾!“