RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the first quarter of the race, the 27-year-old Brazilian athlete was neck and neck with People’s Republic of China Liu Hao but broke away in the last 250m and stormed to the finish line first at 4:04.408.
Liu came in second with a time of 4:05.724, while Moldova’s Serghei Tarnovschi came from behind to overtake France’s Adrien Bart in the final second to clinch bronze.
This is the first gold medal for Queiroz dos Santos, who won three Olympic medals (two silvers and bronze) at the Rio Olympic Games five years ago.
“I feel like I have finally lifted the weight of the world from my back. That doesn’t mean I feel pressure, but I felt an obligation to the sports lovers of Brazil to represent our country. Now I feel way lighter,” the athlete said.
Queiroz dos Santos plunged into the water after realizing he’d won the gold medal.
“In Rio de Janeiro, I worked hard to get a medal, but sadly I couldn’t choose the color, so it was silver and bronze. This time I really wanted a better result, so I trained hard for that. I’m thrilled with the result.
“Now I really want to relax and have some vacations but also prepare for the pairs competition. I want more medals. It really feels good to be a medallist.”