Explaining Brazil #303: Brazil’s Olympic fever

Author

Gustavo Ribeiro
August 07, 2024 • Reading Time: 3 minutes

Olympic fever has gripped Brazil and the world, and there really wasn’t any other topic we could dare to talk about this week.

Footage of the Paris Games is everywhere. At home, at work, on public transport, in hospital waiting rooms, what seems like every single member of the Brazilian population is watching the events on their TVs, computers and smartphones.

We’re past the halfway point of this Olympic Games, and at the time of recording Brazil has won a total of 13 medals: two gold, with Beatriz Souza in the judo and Rebeca Andrade in the artistic gymnastics, as well as five silvers and six bronze.

In the first half of today’s show, we’re going to look at some of the biggest Brazilian results so far in Paris, how the Games are being received in Brazil, and what we should be looking ahead to in the remaining days of events.

And then in part two, we’re going to look at what happens before and after the Olympic Games — namely how athletes are funded, how they make a living, and where Brazil could be doing better.

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This episode used music from Uppbeat and Envato. License codes: Investigation Documentary by puremusic (8STNPKJ), Aspire by Pryces (B6TUQLVYOWVKY02S), Thriller Tension by Music Service (Z4T8HB7CJS), and Army Men by LightBeats (4KT8DZYSC9). 

Background reading on Brazil and the Olympic Games:

  • Check out our Paris 2024 live blog, with all of our stories about the Olympic Games.

  • Rebeca Andrade’s gymnastics gold made her the most successful Olympian in the country’s history, and brought the spotlight to Brazil.

  • And even before Andrade’s triumph, the women’s artistic gymnastics team was already making waves — more impressive still considering the sport’s origins in Brazil.

  • As our reporter Isabela Cruz explained, Brazil has a strong framework for financing Olympians, but lacks the funding to make a greater impact.

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