This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics [1].
Young marathoner Augusto Soares [2], 25, captured the hearts of the Olympic marathon audience with his perseverance and good humor. He competed in Beijing four years ago, but did not finish, so this time around his goal was to finish the race.
Much of the competition he was at the tail end; there was the sense that his smiling run was one of the closing moments of London 2012 Olympics. (He came in second to last [3] with a time of 2:45:09.)
[4]Augusto Soares of East Timor waves to the enthusiastic crowds who lined the streets of London Wall and Barbican. Photo by Richard Soans copyright Demotix (12/08/2012)
Annie Martin tweeted [5]
The Olympic Marathon is brilliant, am waving my flags outside Monument. Love the straggler from Timor Leste beaming from ear to ear!
Chris Spillane tweeted [6]
My favourite Olympian. Soares of East Timor in last place in the Men's Marathon. True Olympic spirit http://yfrog.com/obrxpmjj [7]
Youtube user Marwat86 captured [8] the cheering for Soares as he passed on his last lap.
The UN interviewed Soares and his team mate Juventina Napoleao, who started training only two months prior to the Olympics.
Soares was interviewed [9] by blogger Celso Oliveira. He said one of his biggest motivations was to
liu husi partisipasaun Timor nian bele mos fo’o hanoin hikas fali ba maluk Timor oan sira nebe namkari lemo lemo iha ema rain katak Timor liberdade ona no moris iha dame nia laran.
Soares said he would love to be an example for young people and develop sports in his young nation.
Maibe, hau labele halo buat ida se wainhira hau mesak, tamba bat hotu fila fali ba ema bo’ot sira. Hau bele dehan hau hari'i klubu ida atleta barak, maibe eventu la iha sa ida mak akontese, atleta sira treino ka sira ba fali sira nia fatin. Ne’e ita atu dezenvolve desporto?
Soares talks about how he was recruited personally as a schoolboy in Balibar, a mountain village above the capital, by Timorese Olympian Aguida Amaral [10].
Diak. Hau konhese desportu halai ne'e primeiro liu husi mana ida naran Aguida Fatima Amaral. Iha momentu ne’e, hau sei eskola iha foho i sei hela ho pai i mae. Depois loron ida mana ne’e to’o ba iha ami nia eskola atu registu ema atu tama iha mana nia klubu naran SLB. […] Hafoin ami treino iha neba mana ne’e hare ami nebe mak halai diak oitoan entaun foti ami tun mai hela no treino iha dili.
This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics [1].