RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil has never had a larger female delegation in the Olympic Games than a male one; however, that may happen in Tokyo 2020, should men’s collective sport fail to secure its positions.
Currently, the group consists of 80 confirmed women and 65 men. To total the 152 athletes there are still seven places left in the equestrian sport, but since it is a mixed sport, it is not yet possible to know who will go.
“We had the expectation of reaching the place in the Olympics with men’s handball in Pan as well, but that did not happen. And among women, rugby had a good achievement, women’s football confirmed in advance,” says Jorge Bichara, COB’s sports director. It’s definitely the team sports that have helped to make the leap for women.
At the Athens Games in 2004, 122 women and 125 men represented Brazil at the Olympics. It was the highest percentage participation of women (49.39 percent).
The largest absolute contingent was at the Rio Games in 2016, with 209 women (aganst 256 men). And away from home, the most impressie number was in Beijing-2008, with 133 women and 144 men.
Although at the moment the female group maintains its dominance, in the final count the situation may change, because besides collective sports, in both swimming and track and field, the presence of men should be much greater.
On the other hand, some sports need to pre-qualify, such as rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming. According to Bichara, the athletes need to keep up their pace because it will be an important season. “It [2019] has been a positive year. We had 22 podiums in all disciplines, but now it starts all over again.”