Sporting KC’s Champ: National Cross-Country Win

Mid-distance runner José Carlos Pinto, national cross-country champion and 5 km record holder, will represent Sporting in 2026, the lions announced this Saturday.

«It’s fantastic. Sporting was a great promoter of athletics from the beginning, it had big names running for the club, and it’s incredible to be able to continue that legacy. It’s an inexplicable feeling», said José Carlos Pinto, 28 years old, to the green and white press.

«In the short term we already have the European Cross-Country Cup of European Champion Clubs, and my objective is to help the club win this competition, in the mixed relay. After that, we have the National Club Championships. Individually, I want to try, in about ten days, to beat the national 10 km road record. I have now achieved the national record for the 5 km, so I believe I am in good shape. In the long term, of course, are the 2028 Olympic Games [Los Angeles]and help the club in as many competitions as possible and collect as many points as possible”, declared Pinto about the objectives he sets out to achieve.

It is worth remembering that, on December 31st, the athlete broke the Portuguese record for the 5 km by winning the Corsa dells Nassos, the traditional last Catalan race of the year, completing the race held in Barcelona in 13.10 minutes and surpassing the previous maximum (13.51) that belonged to Paulo Guerra, since 1996.

The Portuguese’s time in the Corsa dells Nassos is also the fifth best European time ever – the record is held by Frenchman Jimmy Gressier, who ran the distance in 12.57 this year, in Lille.

In November, running as an individual, José Carlos Pinto became national cross-country champion, after having done so in the 1,500 and 5,000m at the National track events, in August.

«I hope to be, one day, an example for younger athletes. It’s very special to know that some kids look at me the way I looked at older athletes. That is great. There is always room to learn everywhere. One of the best aspects of Sporting’s athletics is the sense of camaraderie. It’s fantastic to have a team where we are well received, and I’m noticing that. I had already been linked to the club on other occasions, even without being within the institution, and I was always treated very well. It’s great to feel at home», he concluded.