Brazil ends Olympic with all-time best performance

Brazil’s campaign at the Tokyo Olympics ended with the best performance by the country in an issue of the Olympic Games. Under a number of perspectives, the result in Japan represents a milestone, a major stride five years after Brazil hosted the event.

The medal count shows Brazil in 12th place, its best position in history. In 2016, the final position was 13th. The Brazilian delegation this time brought the same amount of gold and silver medals as five years ago (seven golds, six silvers), but bagged two more bronzes (eight, compared to a former six).

These two bronze medals also made the difference in marking the highest number of medals won by the country in any Olympic Games. Twenty-one, against 19 in Rio.

Artistic gymnast Rebeca Andrade was the first Brazilian woman to climb the podium twice at the same games (gold in the vault, and silver in the all-around) - Ricardo Bufolin/CBG

Goal

“We delivered what we had as our goal, which was surpassing Rio 2016. Ranking 12th worldwide in a competition with 206 countries is an important number. I’m convinced that the work was done with gusto, pluck, and determination. We delivered what we had as our goal, and we’re happy with the result,” said Paulo Wanderley, had of Brazil’s Olympic Committee, during a press conference.

In addition to a never-before-seen amount, many of Brazil’s were achievements also remarkable or unprecedented.

Artistic gymnast Rebeca Andrade was the first Brazilian woman to climb the podium twice at the same games (gold in the vault, and silver in the all-around).

Skateboarder Rayssa Leal, 13, became the youngest medalist in Brazil’s Olympic history and the world’s youngest since 1936. She got silver in street.

As for tennis, the duo fomed by Luísa Stefani and Laura Pigossi brought the bronze, the first Olympic medal in the history of the modality for Brazil.

Altogether, 13 different modalities saw at least one medal for Brazil, another unprecedented threshold.

Hebert Conceição got golden medal in boxing - Wander Roberto/COB

Cost

According to data released by the Brazilian Olympic Committee, the investment for Tokyo surpassed $8.7 million this year, while awards added up to $877 thousand.

“Our preparation for Tokyo started in 2013, with an estimated total cost of [$12.4 million], [$8.7 million] of which this year. This cost faced the impact of the [COVID-19] pandemic and also the dollar and euro rates, which made a huge impact on our organization,” said committee director Rogério Sampaio.

Also according to the Olympic Committee, the Brazilian delegation reached the end of the games with no COVID-19 case. Of the 317 athletes defending the country in Tokyo, 303 received at least one dose of the vaccine against the disease, and 259 received both doses.