In the running for the 2024 awards were 5 teams, 5 coaches and 15 athletes.
On 7 November, the University of Minho (UMinho) held its XXIII Sports Gala. Organised since 2001 by the UMinho Social Action Services (SASUM), in collaboration with the Academic Association (AAUMinho), the 2024 Sports Gala took place at 6.30pm in the Medieval Hall of the Rectory of the University of Minho (Largo do Paço, Braga).
This Gala pays tribute to the students/athletes and coaches of this University who, individually or collectively, achieved ‘PODIUM’ places in University Sports Competitions in the 2023/2024 sports season. The moment is intended to publicly recognise all those involved in the successes of the past sporting season, who have performed with exceptional value in UMinho sport, raising the name of the Academy, inside and outside the country. The event is also intended to promote sport and the practice of sport.
At the 2024 Sports Gala, the Sports Merit Awards were presented to student-athletes who have achieved outstanding academic and sporting performance, and the categories of Team of the Year, Coach of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year, Athlete of the Year, as well as the Prestige Award were presented to a personality or organisation that has excelled in the service of university sport.
The ceremony was attended by the Secretary of State for Sport, Pedro Dias.
EEUM was represented by its students in the following categories:
Male Athlete of the Year
Hugo Fabiano Gomes Mendes, Physical Engineering student, Artistic Gymnastics;
Simão Lopes Ferreira, Mechanical Engineering student and Kickboxing athlete;
José Paulo da Graça Antunes Lopes, Industrial Engineering and Management student, and Swimming;
And Nuno Pando Vieira, Civil Engineering student and Handball athlete.
Female Athlete of the Year
Elsa Patrícia Marques Ferreira, Integrated Master’s student in Biomedical Engineering, and Futsal player;
Ana Sofia Oliveira Marinho, Polymer Engineering student, and Athletics.
Sports Career Athlete
Márcia Eduarda Marques Ferreira, Integrated Master’s student in Biomedical Engineering, and Futsal player;
Afonso Oliveira e Silva, Computer Engineering student and Handball player.
And the 2024 winners are….
Men’s Handball (Team of the Year), Manuel Gomes (Coach of the Year), Maria Gomes (Female Athlete of the Year), Hugo Mendes (Male Athlete of the Year) and Rafael Simões (Sports Career Athlete) were the big winners at the 23rd edition of the University of Minho (UMinho) Sports Gala, which awarded the ‘PODIUM’ to the best of 2023/2024. The ‘Prestige Award’ was presented this year to the Secretary of State for Sport, Pedro Dias.
The School of Engineering congratulates all these students on their nomination for the awards and, above all, for the remarkable sporting career they have combined with their demanding academic activity.
Congratulations and thank you for (so well) representing the School of Engineering!
