Brazil begins the Paralympic Games in Paris (France) with the goal of achieving the most successful campaign in its history. To this end, the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB) sent the largest Brazilian delegation in the history of the competition to the French capital: a total of 280 athletes, 255 of whom have disabilities, 19 guide athletes (18 for athletics and 1 for triathlon), three bocce players, two blind football goalkeepers and a rowing helmsman.
“In our strategic plan, formulated in 2017, we have the goal of winning between 70 and 90 medals and finishing among the top eight. But our real expectation is that Brazil can have the best campaign of all time in Paris,” declared the president of the CPB, Mizael Conrado, about Brazil’s campaign expectations at the Paris Games, which will be held between this Wednesday (28) and September 8.
The goal is to surpass the campaigns of the Rio Games (2016) and Tokyo (2020), in which, in each, Brazil won a total of 72 medals. However, it was in Japan that the country set the record for gold medals, 22, surpassing the mark of the London Games (2012), when 21 Brazilians climbed to the top of the podium. In 2016, 14 gold medals were won.
We are SO happy in the Paralympic Village! 🫶🇧🇷 These smiles say it all, right!? #Paris2024 It hasn’t even started and it’s already amazing. 💚💛#ParalympicBrazil #ParalympicGames. pic.twitter.com/19Ua2bfCyE
— Brazilian Paralympic Committee (@BraParalimpico) August 25, 2024
And the possibilities for an unforgettable campaign in the French capital will be endless, as Brazil will be represented in 20 of the 22 sports: athletics, badminton, bocce, canoeing, cycling, wheelchair fencing, blind football, goalball, horse riding, weightlifting, judo, swimming, rowing, wheelchair tennis, taekwondo, table tennis, archery, shooting, triathlon and sitting volleyball. The only sports that will not feature Brazilians are wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby.
In search of medal 400
In the history of the Paralympic Games, which had its first edition in Rome (1960), Brazil has a total of 373 medals (109 gold, 132 silver and 132 bronze). Thus, it is 27 podiums away from winning the 400th.
The Opening Ceremony of the Paris Games will take place from 3pm (Brasília time) on Wednesday. The event will be held for the first time outside a stadium, with the athletes’ parade starting from the lower part of the Champs-Elysées and extending through the heart of the French capital to the iconic Place de la Concorde.
