IÚRI LEITÃO (POR) awarded with EFPM “Spirit of Fair Play” Award 2025

Iúri Leitão is a cyclist for Portuguese national track cycling team, having established himself as one of the greatest exponents of this sport in Portugal and in the world, with a brilliant sporting career. Among his sporting achievements, Iúri is the current Madison Olympic champion (2024) and Olympic runner-up in Omnium (2024), world champion in Omnium (2023), four-time European champion in Scratch (2020, 2022, 2024 and 2025) and European champion in Points Race (2025). He became the first Portuguese athlete to secure two medals in the same edition of the Olympic Games (Paris 2024).

More than highlighting the brilliant sporting results, we aim to emphasize his human conduct, filled with the highest ethical values that sport encompasses. In the Paris Olympic Games, during the Omnium event, in which Iúri won the silver medal, the Portuguese rider displayed a golden spirit of fair play. At the crucial moment of the competition, Iúri began chasing the Frenchman Benjamin Thomas, who was leading the race. At one point, Benjamin fell and, instead of pressing the attack, Iúri decided to follow his conscience and wait for his opponent to return to track, ensuring that he was okay.

After the race, Iúri explained: “I made sure he was okay and that we could compete for

the gold fairly. It would have been unfair for him to lose the gold in that way. It was the fairest thing to do”. Benjamim Thomas expressed his gratitude to Iúri Leitão for not taking advantage of his fall to attack, and his recognition for his gesture of fair play.

06.06.2025