It was 1998 when Filipe Cabrita, a teenager from Faro in southern Portugal, applied to study medicine at Charles University. The Czech Republic was not a member of the European Union, the government was led by Miloš Zeman and the president was Václav Havel. The young Portuguese did not know much about the country and took the study stay as an adventure. In the end, he brought a degree, an ophthalmology certificate, a family and his love for cross-country skiing from the Czech Republic.
“My parents were very surprised when I told them about my idea, but they supported me,” says the tall, friendly Czech doctor while walking his dogs in the afternoon on the outskirts of Fara. The local renowned ophthalmologist doesn’t waste time even during his lunch break. And although his stomach rumbles, he willingly and kindly answers the storm of questions from curious journalists from the Czech Republic, whom he sees for the first time in his life.
“At the time, we were the first four Portuguese – me, my girlfriend at the time and two other friends – who went to the Czech Republic to study medicine in English. We thus opened the door for other students who came after us. I am very grateful for studying in the Czech Republic, everyone , who was interested in this possibility, I then passed on my experience, information and recommendations,” explains Filipe.
Over the past 20 years, hundreds of Portuguese have studied medicine in the Czech Republic. They have to pay for a standard six-year course in English at Czech universities, yet they belong to one of the largest groups of students coming to the Czech Republic in recent years. The number of places at medical faculties in Portugal is low, despite the fact that the national health system in the country is in need and doctors organize regular strikes due to unsuitable conditions. However, Filipe claims that university management has tripled the number of students admitted to study medicine in recent years.
While Czech-Portuguese study exchanges are quite common today, at the end of the 1990s it was necessary to arrange a residence permit in addition to a study plan or accommodation. “A lot of people didn’t even know English back then, so it was more complicated,” admits Filipe.
The only ophthalmologist in the area
He fell in love with the Czech Republic already during the first days. “My Czech classmates helped me a lot, who took me to the show. Thanks to them, I learned Czech quite quickly. In addition, they took me on purely Czech trips – to the mountains, to the forest or to the water. I will remember these experiences all my life, ” he adds.
Thanks to his degree from the Czech Republic, ophthalmologist Cabrita became one of the first retinal surgeons in the Algarve region, where almost half a million people live. For many years he was also the only doctor in his field in Faro.
“There is only one dermatologist in the hospital in Faro, she also studied in the Czech Republic. And I myself was the only eye surgeon for a long time. If it weren’t for us, there would be no specialists in Faro. Before I joined the local hospital, patients had to undergo retinal and green eye surgery cloud drive all the way to Lisbon (the cities are roughly 280 kilometers apart, note ed.),” he says.
“When I went on a planned vacation and someone needed urgent surgery, that person had to go all the way to the capital. The feeling that patients depend only on you is not very pleasant. That’s why I tried to improve the situation myself and started teaching younger colleagues.” explains.
Recently, Filip took a breather after all, because he was able to start passing on his knowledge to a younger colleague – an ophthalmologist, who also studied in the Czech Republic and after work experience in Germany, moved back to her native parish.
“Czech classmates took me to their cottages”
From the Czech Republic, Filipe brought not only a diploma and ophthalmology certification, but also a new hobby – cross-country skiing. “I got into cross-country skiing for the first time thanks to the winter sports course of the 2nd Medical Faculty of the Motol University Hospital in Zadov, which I signed up for. I love snow, as well as the Czech mountains and forests, but I didn’t enjoy downhill skiing as much as cross-country skiing,” he says.
“Of course, at the beginning I was the worst of the whole ski group, the slowest of them all,” he laughs as he recalls.
Filip’s Czech classmates regularly invited him to their mountain huts, where he gradually improved his running style. “We went to the cottages every weekend, it was great. In addition, everything was new and unusual for me – mountains, snow, forests,” lists Filipe, who misses the Czech landscape in the Mediterranean Faro.
“I thought I’d try the Olympics”
After returning to Portugal in 2011 with his Czech wife and daughter, he limited his cross-country skiing trips on winter vacations in the Czech Republic and the Alps. “I was frustrated that even though I dedicated every winter holiday to cross-country skiing, I was never as good as my Czech friends. My priorities were clear – to study medicine, get certified in ophthalmology and learn to operate on the retina. Well, when my children grew up a little, he decided I’m sure I’ll devote myself more to cross-country skiing again,” he explains.
In 2016, on the Olympic day in Pardubice, he discovered roller skis and started training on them in the vicinity of Fara, where it last snowed in 1954.
“I told myself that I would try to qualify for the Winter Olympics. When my wife approved my idea, I got in touch with Petr Michl, a coach from the Wikov SKI Skuhrov nad Bělou club. He did not laugh at me, but motivated me by saying that if I will train a lot, everything is possible,” adds Filipe, who thus became a member of the Czech cross-country skiing team. “In the summer I train with them on cross-country skis, in the winter I ride on the snow with them,” explains the doctor.
Every morning he goes to the beach to practice in his Czech Škoda
He had to adapt to training at home in the Mediterranean Portuguese climate, so the snow replaces the sand on the beach. “The difference is that cross-country skis rub on the sand,” he laughs, proudly showing off his Czech Sporten cross-country skis.
Portuguese doctor trains for Olympics, runs on beach instead of snow | Video: Filipe Cabrita
The renowned ophthalmologist gets up every morning before six in the morning and drives his Škoda Octavia to the nearby beaches of the Ria Formosa Natural Park, where he trains for at least an hour. After training, he takes his daughters to school and continues to work at the state hospital in Faro and at a private family clinic.
Filipe is one of the two Portuguese aspiring to participate in the cross-country race at the Winter Olympics. His colleague and rival in one lives in Norway all winter and is a professional triathlete.
“I already qualified for last year’s Olympics in Beijing, but in the end my colleague, who makes a living from sports, blew my place. Cross-country skiing does not and will never support me,” says Filipe, hoping to qualify for the Winter Olympics in 2026. The year before as part of the preparations and collecting points, he will also participate in the World Championships in classic skiing.
However, the Faroese doctor wants to advocate for other compatriots to continue cross-country racing. This year, therefore, he founded the first Portuguese cross-country skiing club, which so far has only nine members, including his daughter. “I have been trying to found a club for several years, but finding people interested in cross-country skiing in the south of Portugal was a problem. A speed skating club from Lagos finally contacted me and we operate together, they take care of speed skating, I take care of cross-country skiing,” he adds.
Photo author: Personal archive of Filipe Cabrita
Filipe Cabrita (44 lets)
- He comes from Faro in southern Portugal, where he also lives.
- Between 1998 and 2004, he studied medicine at the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in Prague.
- From 2005, he worked at the Bulovka Faculty Hospital, at the Barrandov Polyclinic and then at the Pardubice Hospital. He certified in 2010 in Hradec Králové in the field of ophthalmology.
- In 2011, together with his Czech wife, he moved back to southern Portugal, where he works in the local state hospital and in a private family clinic as an ophthalmologist.
- Since 2016, he has been a member of the Czech club Wikov SKI Skuhrov nad Bělou, with whom he regularly trains. He is a candidate for the Winter Olympics in Milan in 2026 in cross-country skiing.
- This year he founded the first cross-country skiing club in Portugal.
- He is married and has three daughters.
