RIO DE JANEIRO, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Brazil might be absent from the men's football tournament, but that doesn't mean the South American nation won't have other medal contenders at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
It is true that Brazil, often dubbed the country of football, had been targeting a third consecutive Olympic football gold medal before being eliminated by old rival Argentina in a February qualifier.
That disappointment, however, has long dissipated as Brazil pursues medals in a host of other events, including some in which the country has had little prior success at the Olympics.
"Our delegation will be made up of a mix of established names, Olympic or world champions and young athletes with great potential," said Rogerio Sampaio, Brazil's chef de mission, in an interview with Xinhua.
Brazil's delegation will include some 56 Olympic or world championship medallists.
They include Olympic gold medallists Ana Marcela Cunha (marathon swimming), Isaquias Queiroz (sprint canoeing), Rebeca Andrade (artistic gymnastics), Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (sailing) and Rafaela Silva (judo).
In addition, Brazil boasts world champions in beach volleyball (Duda Lisboa and Ana Patricia), athletics (Alison dos Santos), skateboarding (Rayssa Leal), boxing (Beatriz Ferreira), slalom canoeing (Ana Satila), surfing (Gabriel Medina and Filipe Toledo), fencing (Nathalie Moellhausen) and judo (Mayra Aguiar).
Among the events in which Brazil is hoping for podium finishes from lesser-known athletes are fencing, trampoline gymnastics, rowing, table tennis, archery and taekwondo.
"Having household names in the modalities provides extra strength to the team, which feels more motivated to achieve significant results and break records. I am sure that our athletes will have a great campaign in Paris 2024," Sampaio said.
There are currently 238 confirmed athletes in the Brazilian Olympic delegation and the figure is expected to swell to 270 before the July 8 deadline for entries.
One event for which Brazil still hopes to qualify is the men's basketball tournament. It will bid for one of four places at qualifiers running from July 2 to 7 in Spain, Latvia, Greece and Puerto Rico.
In addition to the failed qualification bid of the men's football team, Brazil's men's handball side also missed out on a berth in Paris.
As a result, Brazil will have more women than men in its delegation for the first time at an Olympic Games.
"It will be another important milestone in the history of Brazilian sport," COB planning and high performance manager Mariana Mello said.
"High-performance women's sport has been experiencing significant growth in Brazil. If we stop to think that in 1964, Aida dos Santos was the only Brazilian woman at the Olympic Games, the evolution is very big. That was just 60 years ago," she added.
Unlike in Tokyo three years ago, Brazil's athletes will have the luxury of finalizing their Olympic preparations in familiar surroundings. Several already have training bases in Germany, Slovenia, Spain, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Türkiye and even France.
"This facilitates operations and provides security for athletes," the COB's international operations manager told Xinhua.
"In Tokyo, we made final preparations only in Japanese cities. We are ready to offer the best structure to these athletes who have already made history and for new ones who seek to reach that level."
The COB has declined to set a medal target for the Games. But there is every reason to believe Brazil could surpass its record haul of 21 (seven gold, six silver and eight bronze) at the Tokyo Games.
"Everyone will arrive wanting to add an important chapter to their careers, even those that have had previous success at the Olympics," Sampaio said.
"So there is a great deal of motivation on their part. From our perspective, we want the Brazilian population to be proud of their athletes."
According to the COB, the Olympics is a means by which ordinary people can be inspired to lead a healthier and more active life.
"It's a way for new generations to incorporate sport and the Olympic values into their own lives," Sampaio said.
"In this sense, the Olympic Games is an excellent showcase of the work that we do at the COB and, especially, the commitment, sacrifice and effort made by our athletes," he concluded. ■
