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Brazil at the Olympics facts for kids

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Brazil at the
Olympics
Flag of Brazil.svg
IOC code BRA
NOC Brazilian Olympic Committee
Website  
Medals
Ranked 34th
Gold Silver Bronze Total
40 49 81 170
Summer appearances
  • 1920
  • 1924
  • 1928
  • 1932
  • 1936
  • 1948
  • 1952
  • 1956
  • 1960
  • 1964
  • 1968
  • 1972
  • 1976
  • 1980
  • 1984
  • 1988
  • 1992
  • 1996
  • 2000
  • 2004
  • 2008
  • 2012
  • 2016
  • 2020
Winter appearances
  • 1992
  • 1994
  • 1998
  • 2002
  • 2006
  • 2010
  • 2014
  • 2018

Brazil first joined the Olympic Games in 1920. They had missed the five Summer Olympics before that. Since 1920, Brazil has sent athletes to every Summer Olympic Games, except for the 1928 Games. As of 2024, Brazilian athletes have won a total of 170 medals. These medals were earned in 18 different Summer sports.

Brazil also started taking part in the Winter Olympic Games in 1992. Since Brazil is mostly a warm country, its athletes have not yet won any medals in winter sports. The best result for Brazil at the Winter Olympics was a ninth-place finish. This was achieved by snowboarder Isabel Clark Ribeiro at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Brazil's best sports for winning medals in the Summer Olympics are Volleyball (both indoor and beach volley), sailing, and judo. The country is also very strong in football. The men's football team has won seven medals. These include 2 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze. The women's team has added three silver medals. This makes a total of ten football medals for Brazil.

The city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics. This was a very special event. It was the first time any country in South America hosted the Games. It was also the first time a country where Portuguese is spoken (a lusophone country) hosted any Olympic Games. Rio was only the second city in Latin America to host the Summer Olympics. The first was Mexico City in 1968. Brazil was also only the second country in the southern hemisphere to host the Olympics. Australia hosted them in 1956 and 2000.

When Brazil hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics, they had their second most successful performance ever. They won seven gold medals and 19 medals in total. However, their most successful Olympics happened at the 2020 Summer Olympics. They won seven gold medals and six silver medals, just like in 2016. But they won two more bronze medals (eight in total). This brought their total medal count to 21. This was a new record for Brazil in one Olympics. They also reached their highest position ever on the medal table, finishing 12th.

One special award, the Pierre de Coubertin medal, was given to a Brazilian athlete. This was Vanderlei de Lima, a long-distance runner. During the men's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, he was leading the race. A spectator attacked him, and he lost two places. He still won the bronze medal. Even after what happened, he celebrated his third-place finish. This showed great sportsmanship.

The main organization for the Olympics in Brazil is the Brazilian Olympic Committee. This group was started in 1914 and officially recognized in 1935.

Hosted Games

Brazil has hosted the Olympic Games one time.

Games Host city Dates Nations Participants Events
2016 Summer Olympics Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 5 – 21 August 207 11,303 306

Unsuccessful Bids

Brazil also tried to host the Games in these years but was not chosen:

Games City Winner of bid
1936 Summer Olympics Rio de Janeiro Berlin, Germany
2000 Summer Olympics Brasília Sydney, Australia
2004 Summer Olympics Rio de Janeiro Athens, Greece
2012 Summer Olympics Rio de Janeiro London, United Kingdom

Medals

Brasil medallas por edicion 1920-2020
Medals won by Brazil between 1920 and 2020.

Medals by Summer Sport

     Leading in that sport

Sports 11 Gold


22 Silver


33 Bronze Total Rank
Sailing 8 3 8 19 11
Judo 5 4 19 28 8
Athletics 5 4 12 21 34
Volleyball 5 4 3 12 2
Beach volleyball 4 7 3 14 2
Artistic gymnastics 3 5 2 10 20
Football 2 6 2 10 4
Swimming 2 4 11 17 24
Boxing 2 2 5 9 28
Canoeing 1 3 1 5 30
Shooting 1 2 1 4 38
Surfing 1 1 1 3 2
Equestrian 1 0 2 3 20
Skateboarding 0 3 2 5 3
Basketball 0 1 4 5 10
Taekwondo 0 0 3 3 36
Modern pentathlon 0 0 1 1 25
Tennis 0 0 1 1 33
Total (18) 40 49 81 170 32

Medals by Gender

Gender 11 Gold


22 Silver


33 Bronze Total
Men 26 34 57 117
Women 13 15 21 49
Mixed / Open ' 1 0 3 4
Total 40 49 81 170

Flagbearers

Flagbearers are athletes who carry their country's flag during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Olympic medalists

This table lists all the athletes who have won at least two Olympic medals for Brazil.

Multiple medalists

This list shows Brazilian athletes who have won at least two Olympic medals. It is sorted by the number of gold medals, then silver, then bronze.

Most successful Olympian progression

This table shows how the title of "most successful Brazilian Olympian" has changed over time.

Athlete Sport Date Gender 1 2 3 Total
da Costa, AfrânioAfrânio da Costa Shooting 2 August 1920 M 0 1 1 2
Paraense, GuilhermeGuilherme Paraense Shooting 3 August 1920 M 1 0 1 2
da Silva, AdhemarAdhemar da Silva Athletics 27 November 1956 M 2 0 0 2
Scheidt, RobertRobert Scheidt Sailing 22 August 2004 M 2 1 0 3
Grael, TorbenTorben Grael Sailing 28 August 2004 M 2 1 2 5
Scheidt, RobertRobert Scheidt Sailing 5 August 2012 M 2 2 1 5
Andrade, RebecaRebeca Andrade Gymnastics 5 August 2024 W 2 3 1 6

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Brasil en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños

  • Sports in Brazil
  • 2016 Summer Olympics
  • Brazil at the Youth Olympics
  • Brazil at the Paralympics
  • Tropical nations at the Winter Olympics
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