Brazil Does Not Meet the Olympic Committee's Goal of Finishing Among the Top Ten
Playing at home with the massive support of its fans and backed by the biggest financial investment made in an Olympic cycle to date.
Even so, the Brazilian athletes competing in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games did not meet the goal set by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) of finishing the Olympics among the top ten, considering the total number of medals, regardless of their type.
On Sunday, August 21, as Brazil failed to win a medal in the men's marathon, it became impossible for the country to finish the world's biggest multisport event ahead of Canada, the tenth in the ranking with 22 medals. Brazil finished with 19 medals after the men's volleyball team won the gold medal.
Brazil ends its participation in the Olympic Games in 13th place considering two criteria: the total number of medals and the number of gold medals. The country won gold medals in seven competitions, and took silver and bronze six times each.
Canada finished in tenth considering the total number of medals, which was the position the COB was aiming for. Of the 22 medals won by Canada, four were gold, three were silver and fifteen bronze.
A survey by UOL, a company controlled by Grupo Folha, which publishes Folha, shows that in this Olympic cycle (London 2012 and Rio 2016), Brazil invested R$ 3.19 billion (US$ 1 billion) of public funds in structure, staff training, logistics and the athletes' salaries.
In the previous cycle (Beijing 2008 and London 2012), the investment was nearly R$ 2 billion (US$ 625 million).
Translated by THOMAS MUELLO