Prevented from returning to Brazil, José Hélio, better known as Junior Tri, from Ceará, aged 47, staged an unusual protest in Italy.
The triathlete ran more than 42 km inside the rented apartment measuring just 70 square meters. It took around 5 hours to complete the “route”, and everything was broadcast live via their Instagram profile.
“The biggest difference compared to a marathon on the street was the monotony of constantly going back and forth inside the apartment. I also felt the impact on my joints quite a bit. Imagine you're driving a car and you have to brake constantly, the fatigue is much greater. This greatly affected my race time, which is usually 3 hours and 20 minutes. What helped was that I had a radio, headphones, listening to music. I have three toenails about to fall off,” said Junior Tri.
The athlete has been isolated in Rome with his wife, daughter, and brother-in-law since the end of February when he arrived in the city to participate in two events. Since then, the country has adopted restrictive measures against the new coronavirus, and the family has been unable to return to Brazil.
Their return was scheduled for March 3rd, but was postponed until May 19th.
The athlete stays in Italy with income from an online store specializing in the sale of motorcycle parts.
