RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian Olympic participation in Tokyo closed with the country’s best performance ever in an edition of the Olympic Games. The result in Japan represented a milestone, 5 years after hosting the event.
According to the medal distribution criteria, Brazil also surpassed its home record in Rio, until now its best in Olympic Games. The delegation won exactly the same number of gold and silver medals as 5 years ago (7 gold and 6 silver), but won 2 more bronze medals (8 compared to 6).
The 2 bronze medals also made the difference in terms of the highest total number of podium places the country has ever achieved in the Olympics – 21 medals compared to 19 in Rio.
“We delivered what we had as a goal, which was to surpass Rio 2016. To be placed 12th in the world, in a competition with 206 countries, is an important result. I am certain that the work was done with great pleasure, will and determination. We delivered what we had as a goal, and we are happy with the result,” said in a press conference the president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) Paulo Wanderley.
In addition to the record number, many of Brazil’s achievements also represented impressive or unprecedented feats.
Artistic gymnast Rebeca Andrade was the first Brazilian woman to stand on the podium twice in the same Olympics (she won gold in the vault and silver in the individual general).
Skater Rayssa Leal, 13 years old, became the youngest medalist in Brazilian Olympic history and the youngest in the world since 1936. She won silver in the street event.
The tennis pair formed by Luísa Stefani and Laura Pigossi won bronze, the first Olympic medal in history for Brazil in this sport.
In some cases, Brazilian athletes took part in memorable moments of the Games. Alison dos Santos won bronze in the 400-meter hurdles in a race where the top three athletes beat the former Olympic record.
In total, 13 different sports won medals for the country, another unprecedented mark.
According to data released by BOC, the investment for Mission Tokyo 2020 exceeded R$46 (US$8.8) million. Now, medal awards will reach R$4.6 million.
“Our preparation for Tokyo began in 2013, with a total cost of approximately R$65 million, with R$46 million this year. This cost was impacted by tackling the [Covid-19] pandemic and also a dollar and euro exchange rate variation that greatly affected our organization. And we have delivered the sports results. This was the case in the Pan in Lima, in the World Beach Games, in Doha, and in Tokyo,” said BOC general director Rogério Sampaio.
The Olympic Committee also disclosed that it reached the end of the Games with no case of Covid-19 in the delegation. According to the Committee information, from the 317 Brazilian athletes in Tokyo, 303 had been administered at least one dose of the vaccine against the disease and 259 received both doses.
Source: Agência Brasil