Brazilian NOC News
29 September 2024 - Find here the latest news from the National Olympic Committee: events, courses, general assemblies and elections, trophies and much more.
29 September 2024 - Caixa and Loterias Caixa have been announced as BOC “master sponsors” until the end of 2028. The investment will cover the development of national sport and the preparation of Team Brazil athletes for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028. Caixa Chairman Carlos Vieira and BOC President Paulo Wanderley signed the contract at the Caixa headquarters in Brasilia, with many Olympic athletes and the heads of Brazilian National Federations in attendance. The partnership includes tie-ins with BOC institutional events, Team Brazil social media and Olympic athletes. More details here.
17 June 2024 - The BOC recently launched the Brazilian Olympic Forest project in the cities of Tefé and Alvarães, in the state of Amazonas, in an action to reforest some 6.3 hectares of forest in riverine, Indigenous, and quilombola communities. BOC President Paulo Wanderley and Olympic skating medallist Rayssa Leal, the BOC’s sustainability ambassador and patron of the project, led the launch in the communities of Bom Jesus da Ponta da Castanha and the São Jorge da Ponta da Castanha village, the main locations impacted by the initiative. They planted two seedlings of Jatoba, a native species of the region, in the presence of local authorities and representatives of the local communities involved to symbolise the start of the project, which will run at least until 2030. The BOC initiative is part of the “Olympic Forest Network”, an IOC initiative that promotes the restoration of forests by NOCs worldwide. At the launch, a message from the IOC President was delivered in which he congratulated the BOC for the Brazilian Olympic Forest, a project fully aligned with the IOC’s climate commitments. Full details here.
13 May 2024 - Olympic champion and COB Director General Rogério Sampaio will be the Chef de Mission of the Brazilian delegation to the Olympic Games Paris 2024, a contingent of approximately 300 athletes. He will be assisted by a technical team, which is already involved in the organisation process to advise him on the final stretch of preparations and day-to-day operations in Paris. There will also be three Deputy Chefs de Mission: the High Performance Director, Ney Wilson; the Sports Planning and Performance Manager, Mariana Mello; and the Games and International Operations Manager, Joyce Ardies. Full info here.
10 October 2023 - Almost 60,000 people, including thousands of children and young people who had the opportunity to experience Olympic sports and see some of the nation's sporting idols, visited the first edition of the COB Expo, held from 25 to 29 September in Sao Paulo. Organised by the COB, chaired by Paulo Wanderley, the event brought together a whole range of disciplines in one place, and featured activations, exhibitions – including 120 exhibitors – talks, panels and sports activities. There were more than 300 hours of discussions and 490 hours of educational content featuring Olympians and leading figures from Brazilian and international sport. The Olympic and Pan American national federations were also present to interact with visitors and encourage them to practise their sports. More details here at www.cob.org.br.
29 July 2023 - The COB’s Brazilian Olympic Channel (Canal Olímpico do Brasil) will have the most extensive coverage in its history starting from 20 October, having acquired the rights to broadcast the Santiago 2023 Pan-American Games which will open on 20 October. This coverage will be accessible free of charge on the internet. The production will be in partnership with CazéTV, the godmother of Time Brasil, and available on Time Brasil YouTube. The COB and PanAm Sports are partners in several broadcasts of international sports events, and the Santiago 2023 agreement was signed by the entity’s President and IOC Member, Neven Ilic. Created in December 2020, the Brazilian Olympic Channel has more than 270,000 subscribers and broadcasts major international events in addition to the main competitions of the national sports calendar. More details here.
06 February 2023 - The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) has paid tribute to Polyvios Kossivas, who died in Greece on 18 January at the age of 71 and who was – for the COB – one of the protagonists in an important chapter in the history of Brazilian Olympic sport. During the Olympic Games Athens 2004, Kossivas (l. on photo), a spectator at the marathon race, helped Brazilian runner Wanderlei Cordeiro De Lima (r.), who was leading the race but had been knocked down by another spectator. Kossivas helped him get up and continue his race. A few months after the Games, Kossivas went to Rio at the invitation of the COB to receive the Olympic Brazil Award, which was presented by Cordeiro de Lima. Later in 2004, the IOC awarded the athlete the Pierre de Coubertin Medal in recognition of his exceptional demonstration of fair play during the marathon in Athens. Full details here.
23 November 2022 - “Creativity creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.” With this motto, the Brazil Olympic Committee (COB) promoted “Esporte Cria,” an event presented to almost 1,000 teenagers from 24 schools in the State of Rio de Janeiro. The aim was to show that it is possible to work in sport without being an athlete or coach. During his opening speech, COB President Paulo Wanderley shared details of his own career. The event is an initiative of Transforma, the COB’s Olympic values promotion programme, in partnership with the Rio de Janeiro State Department of Education. Full details here.
14 November 2022 - The Olympic Committees of Brazil (BOC) and Panama (POC) recently signed a four-year cooperation agreement in Rio de Janeiro to promote sports exchanges and other actions to exchange information to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. The document was signed by both NOC Presidents, Paulo Wanderley on behalf of the BOC and Damaris Young on behalf of the POC. The two parties also committed to promoting training courses related to sport for athletes, coaches, managers and scientists. During her stay in Rio, the POC President also visited the BOC Training Centre at Maria Lenk Water Park. Full details here.
23 May 2022 - The Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) has officially established a Women in Sport Commission. The initiative aims to foster women's participation and boost gender equality, as well as aiding the establishment of policies that provide for the promotion and qualification of women in sport. The first meeting was held on 16 May at the NOC headquarters (see photo). More details here. In addition, the BOC has announced Gustavo Herbetta as its Director of Marketing. Forty-five-year-old Herbetta worked for 15 years in the publicity sector in Brazil and the United States in leadership positions in large multinational communications companies, and has been working for the past 10 years exclusively in sports marketing. Full info here.
25 March 2022 - The Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) recently organised a successful second edition of the Brazilian Olympic Congress in Salvador, Bahia. The Congress brought together over 600 participants representing the main stakeholders of sport in Brazil, among them more than 40 Olympic medallists. With the main theme of “Planning, a reference for the future for Olympic sport”, the Congress marked an important step for the BOC in the Olympic cycle that will culminate at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. In addition, tribute was paid to three legends of Brazilian sport: Seoul 1988 Olympic champion in judo Aurélio Miguel, Beijing 2008 Olympic champion in volleyball Fofão, and Servílio de Oliveira, Brazil’s first Olympic medallist in boxing, who won bronze at Mexico City 1968. All three had their handprints taken for the BOC Hall of Fame. Full details here.
18 March 2022 - The Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) facilitated the delivery of a surprise gift to gymnast Rebeca Andrade, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion: the vaulting table she used to win the gold medal in Tokyo. Andrade officially received the special gift at the BOC Training Centre in Rio de Janeiro (see photo). Detailed info here.
14 January 2022 - Paulo Roberto Conde (photo) is the new Communications Director of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC). The 37-year-old holds a degree in journalism and is a master's student of Olympic Studies at the German Sport University in Cologne. He had been at the Globo Group since 2018 after being at other leading newsrooms of the Brazilian press, such as the newspapers "O Estado de São Paulo" and "Folha de São Paulo", as well as the daily sports newspaper LANCE!. In April 2018, he switched from written press to TV. As a producer, he did reports for the top news programmes at Globo, for channels SporTV and GE.globo. He has covered, among other things, three Olympic Summer Games (2012, 2016 and 2020) and one edition of the Paralympic Games (2008). Full details here.
13 December2021 - On 7 December, during the 2021 Olympic Brazil Award ceremony, organised by the Brazil Olympic Committee (BOC), Rebeca Andrade (artistic gymnastics, women’s vault) and Isaquias Queiroz (sprint canoeing), both Olympic champions at Tokyo 2020, were named the Best Athletes of the Year. Janeth Arcain, a silver medallist at Atlanta 1996 and bronze medallist at Sydney 2000 with the women's basketball team, received the Adhemar Ferreira da Silva trophy. Volleyball player Fernanda Garay, a gold medallist at London 2012 and silver medallist at Tokyo 2020, took home the Athlete of the Fans trophy. Full details here.
29 November 2021 - The Brazilian Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission recently held the 2nd Forum of Athletes' Commissions of the Brazilian Olympic Movement. The 2021 edition of the event brought together 42 members from 30 Olympic sports commissions, while others followed the meeting virtually. The Forum aimed to foster exchanges of information and strengthen the representation of athletes in sports management. During the two-day meeting, participants had the opportunity to share information on rights and duties, compliance, communication, marketing, planning and prospects for Paris 2024, among other things. More details here.
15 November 2021 - The Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) recently inaugurated an exhibition of items used by Brazilian athletes at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 at its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. Olympic and world champion gymnast Rebeca Andrade was the guest of honour at the launch, and was thrilled to see on display one of her training suits used in Tokyo, where she won one gold and one silver medal. She was welcomed by BOC President Paulo Wanderley, and Director of Communication and Marketing Manoela Penna. The exhibition has also the Tokyo Olympic torch and 25 other items from the BOC´s memorabilia collection, such as mascots, pins and medals related to the Tokyo Games. More details here.
02 July 2021 - On 23 June, the Brazilian delegation for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 gathered virtually for an Olympic meeting, where information was exchanged and important updates and guidance on Team Brazil's operations in Japan were provided. The President of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC), Paulo Wanderley Teixeira, also gave information about awards which will be presented to all Tokyo 2020 medallists. Full details here.
28 June 2021 - As part of its commitment to gender equality, the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) recently created the Women's Sports Department, which is exclusively dedicated to the development of projects for female athletes, coaches and managers. Isabel Swan (see photo), an Olympic sailing bronze medallist at Beijing 2008 (470 class), has been chosen to head the department. Her work will involve conducting a detailed analysis of the participation of women in Brazilian sport, both in and out of competition. Currently, 55 per cent of BOC staff is made up of women, who occupy seven of the entity's 12 executive and management positions. More details here.
11 June 2021 - The Brazil Olympic Committee (COB) informed us that Team Brazil’s uniforms for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were unveiled on 3 June, marking 50 days to go to the Games’ Opening Ceremony. Canal Olímpico Brasil presented the parade. The rehearsal, which took place at the Time Brasil Training Centre in Rio de Janeiro, was conducted by ten Olympic athletes, without an audience and following all the safety protocols established by the COB’s medical team. More details here.
25 May 2021 - The Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) has announced that the first Brazilian athletes who will take part in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 started being vaccinated against COVID-19 on 14 May at the Army Physical Training Centre in Urca, in the southern zone of Rio de Janeiro (photo). This is a joint action between the Ministries of Defence, Health and Citizenship, with the coordination of the BOC and the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (BPC). It will allow for the immunisation of around 1,800 people who will travel to Japan, including athletes and other accredited personnel. The Team Brazil vaccination is part of the Federal Government's national immunisation plan, which guarantees more than 7,000 extra doses of vaccine to the Brazilian population, immunising 3,600 people. Full details here. In addition, the BOC has sent 20 containers of equipment to Tokyo so that the Brazilian Olympic delegation will have the best training conditions in Japan. Due to the pandemic, the BOC has acquired health items to protect the delegation in Japan as much as possible. With that in mind, in April the BOC sent the last containers with sports materials and equipment for the nine Team Brazil bases, the Olympic Village and the other facilities that will be used by the national delegation during the Games. Full details here.
16 March 2021 - On the night of 14 April, the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) illuminated the statue of Christ the Redeemer, which was also dressed in Team Brazil colours, to mark 100 days until the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. With open arms over Rio de Janeiro, host city of the previous Olympic Games, the greatest symbol in the country reminded everyone of how sport can inspire in the fight against COVID-19. On the same day, the BOC’s streaming platform offered a special programme straight from the Team Brazil Training Centre, with the presence of a number of Olympians. The BOC is also planning to donate 1,000 packs of essential food and household items to the Rio de Janeiro Archdiocese, which supports almost 60 charity projects in the city. More details here.
01 March 2021 - On 23 February, the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) launched the Abuse and Harassment Out of Play Course – a youth-oriented version of the Prevention and Confrontation of Harassment and Abuse in Sport Course – for athletes from 12 to 17 years old, from initiation to high performance. The course, developed by the Brazilian Olympic Institute, the COB's education branch, aims to spread the message by making the entire sports community aware of its importance, in addition to showing how it can manifest itself in the sports environment and providing information about preventative action, reporting channels, confronting harassment and abuse, and victim support. The course, which is free of charge and delivered remotely, is divided up into three main themes: Learning about Abuse and Harassment, Recognising the Signs, and Seeking Help. Full details here.
01 February 2021 - The first meeting of the Athletes’ Commission of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) was held remotely on 12 January with the participation of the 25 new members elected for the 2021-24 cycle. During a virtual vote, the Commission elected as President Yane Marques (l. in photo), who is a bronze medallist in modern pentathlon at London 2012. Fabiano Peçanha (r.), a semi-finalist in the 800m at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, has been elected as Vice President of the Commission. More details here. Furthermore, the BOC announced that last December, 20 years after winning his 4x100m medal at the Olympic Games Sydney 2000, sprinter Cláudio Roberto Sousa received the Olympic silver medal in a ceremony held during the Brazil Athletics Trophy, at the Olympic Training and Research Centre in São Paulo. In Sydney, Cláudio competed in the qualifiers in place of Claudinei Quirino, but he returned to Brazil without the medal. Full details here.
23 November 2020 - The 25 members of the Brazilian Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission for the Paris 2024 cycle have been elected. The election broke voting records, with a total participation of 374 athletes who competed in the Olympic Games London 2012, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and/or PyeongChang 2018. This participation corresponds to 66 per cent of the total number of athletes able to vote. The number is more than double the participation registered in 2016, when 170 athletes voted (just over 27 per cent of the total). Full details here. In addition, the COB is launching an official streaming channel, the Brazilian Olympic Channel, scheduled for December. In partnership with TV NSports, the COB will offer the Brazilian Olympic Confederations, free of charge, the live broadcast of at least one annual event on their calendar, as well as the possibility of acquiring international competition rights. In addition, the Channel will feature special reports and videos about the sports and their athletes. Full details here.
12 October 2020 - Paulo Wanderley (right in photo) will serve as the President of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) in the next quadrennial (2021-2024). The election took place on 7 October in Rio de Janeiro and saw significant participation by the Athletes’ Commission, which for the first time was entitled to 12 votes in the Assembly. The voting also included 34 representatives from the Brazilian Olympic Confederations and two IOC Members, totalling 48 voters. Since assuming the presidency of the COB on 11 October 2017, Wanderley has promoted a series of changes in the entity, such as reviewing contracts, cutting expenses and adapting the budget to the new reality of Brazilian Olympic sports after Rio 2016; presenting new statutes; and expanding the Athletes' Commission to 25 members, to name a few. Full details here.
25 September 2020 - Team Brazil will parade at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with shoes signed by Havaianas. The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) has just signed a contract with the brand, which, in addition to supporting the Brazilian delegation, will become part of the COB sponsor board as an official supporter until the end of 2021. The brand will also launch a licensed COB collection that will be sold during the Games. More details here.
31 July 2020 - On 20 July, the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) reopened the Brazil Team Training Centre in the Barra Olympic Park, Rio de Janeiro, and began the gradual resumption of training on site. Following the strict protocols set out in the guide on practising Olympic sports during COVID-19, released in June by the BOC, a maximum of 40 people will initially be able to enter the facility each day. Full details here. In addition, the BOC is the first NOC from the Americas (and the second in the world after Spain) to sign the “United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework”, which was co-developed with the IOC. By joining the framework, the BOC is committing to best practices in favour of the environment and to engaging with and inspiring society at large. More details here.
20 July 2020 - The Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) started its Mission Europe on 17 July with the boarding for Portugal of the boxing, gymnastics, judo, artistic swimming and swimming teams. After receiving authorisation from the government of Portugal, through the intermediary of the local Olympic Committee, the BOC sent sports delegations to the European country, following strict protocols of control regarding COVID-19. Mission Europe will happen from July to December, and its main goal is to support the resumption of training for athletes who have qualified or have the potential to qualify for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, ensuring the total security of the delegation and complying with the protocols required and validated by the medical services. Full details here.
10 July 2020 - The Brazilian Olympic Committee has received the IOC ‘Olympism in Action’ Trophy in recognition of promoting sustainable initiatives at the 2019 Youth School Games (YSG) (photo). Held since 2005, the YSG are the largest student competition in the country and have innovated with regard to sustainability and citizenship, combining the sports individual and young athletes’ citizen training with the incentive to implement sustainable practices. Since 2018, the YSG organisers have eliminated the use of all types of disposable materials that are harmful to the environment, and promoted selective waste collection. Full details here.
29 June 2020 - For the first time, a Forum brought together representatives of the Athletes’ Commissions of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) and of the Brazilian Confederations. Held on Olympic Day, this virtual meeting was aimed at exchanging experiences and increasing the engagement of athletes in the pursuit of sports development in the country. Full details here. Furthermore, with more time inside their homes, many athletes enrolled in free courses offered by the Brazilian Olympic Institute (BOI), the BOC’s body for education. 43 athletes enrolled – a record since the creation of the BOI - in the Fundamentals of Sports Administration and the Basic Management Course for Coaches, which started on 1 June. More details here. In addition, the BOC published the Guide for the Practice of Olympic Sports in the COVID-19 Scenario on 12 June. The document details the gradual resumption of training, after clearance by government and health authorities. More info here.
12 June 2020 - From 26 May to 4 June, approximately 1,400 basic food baskets and masks were donated by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) to the four Municipal Olympic Schools in Rio de Janeiro that are part of the Transform programme. They were distributed to teachers, employees and family members of students from the educational institutions, which since last year have adopted a methodology aimed at promoting the Olympic values. More details here. In addition, the BOC also supports the #VencendoJuntos (#WinningTogether) campaign, which is uniting sports in a solidarity movement. The project seeks to raise BRL 10 million in donations of basic food baskets for 33,000 families for three months. The project is partnering with the Sports Network for Social Change (Rede Esporte pela Mudança Social) and has the support of UNESCO. More details here.
22 May 2020 - In less than two months, Brazil’s Programme on the Prevention and Confrontation of Harassment and Abuse in Sport (PCHAS) has attracted approximately 3,000 sports professionals, including over 750 athletes and former athletes. The programme has been developed by the Brazilian Olympic Institute, the education branch of the Brazilian Olympic Committee. Launched on 13 March in the form of distance learning, the PCHAS aims to show how harassment and abuse can manifest themselves in sport, how it is possible to recognise the signs, and how organisations can deal with this behaviour, explaining actions to prevent, report, confront, and welcome victims. Detailed info here.
16 March 2020 - The uniform to be worn by the Brazilian team at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 has been unveiled. It features Amazonian fish and other references to Brazilian flora and fauna combined with traditional elements of Japanese painting. Olympic medallist and world gymnastics champion Arthur Nory was the first athlete to try the new uniform (pictured above). In Tokyo, the Brazilian delegation will consist of around 270 athletes. The uniform will be officially launched on 15 April, 100 days before the start of the Games in Tokyo. More details here on the Brazilian NOC website.
07 February 2020 - With the Time Brasil Training Centre, the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) is providing astate-of-the-art facility for athletes preparing for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. In January this year, the Centre,which has been managed since 2008 by the COB, received 291 athletes from 23 sports. In addition, 131 evaluationswere carried out with 72 athletes at the Olympic Laboratory, an increase of 43 per cent over the same period in2019. Located in the Olympic Park of Barra, the Training Centre saw a total of 1,033 athletes take advantage of itsfacilities in 2019. In addition to the Centre, and in cooperation with the confederations, the COB has supportednumerous initiatives for the athletes, such as international training camps, support and logistics for participationin competitions, hiring and maintaining high-level coaches, and acquisition of sports equipment, among other things.Full details here.
13 December 2019 - At the Brazil Olympic Awards, gymnast Arthur Nory and boxer Beatriz Ferreira (photo) were named the Best Athletes of 2019. The world and Pan-American champions celebrated another unprecedented career achievement, at a party organised by the Brazil Olympic Committee (COB) on 10 December in Rio de Janeiro. In addition to the best athletes of 2019, the Olympic Brazil Awards honoured the medallists of the Lima 2019 Pan-American Games. Oscar Schmidt, the highest scoring player in the history of world basketball, who has taken part in five Olympic Games editions, received the Adhemar Ferreira da Silva Trophy. This trophy, named after the Olympic triple jump champion, recognises a sports personality who represents the values of ethics, collective spirit, technical and physical efficiency, respect for others, and camaraderie. Full details here.
09 December 2019 - The final stop of the 2019 edition of the Youth School Games took place in Blumenau (Santa Catarina state). The country’s biggest student competition, which has been organised since 2005 by the Brazil Olympic Committee, brought together a total of 4,998 athletes between the ages of 12 and 17 from the 26 Brazilian states and Federal District, Japan, and even Angola. The competition was also a success on social networks. The 85 live transmissions on the Youth School Games' Facebook page attracted over 1 million spectators. In terms of sports development, the main innovation was the implementation of the Evaluation and Monitoring Centre, which recorded the data of over two thousand students from 12 to 14 years old, so that the COB can begin to set up the motor profile of these young people and identify the characteristics of those who came through the School Games. In 2020, the School Games will disembark for the first time in Aracaju (Sergipe state) and Gramado (Rio Grande do Sul state), where two regional rounds of the event will take place. The host cities of the third regional round and the national phase will be announced in the coming months. Full details here.
18 November 2019 - In October and November, the Brazilian NOC joined international breast and prostate cancer prevention campaigns. The NOC’s HQ and the Team Brasil training centre in Rio de Janeiro had their facades lit up in pink and blue in a nod to the aforementioned campaigns. The 140 NOC staff members, 53 per cent of whom are women, also received lectures from medical specialists and took part in blood donation sessions. More info at www.cob.org.
11 November 2019 - At The Olympic Museum in Lausanne on 31 October, the Brazilian 4x100m relay team from the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 received their Olympic bronze medals. The medals were reallocated to Bruno Lins, José Carlos Moreira (Codó), Sandro Viana and Vicente Lenílson (see photo) following the Jamaican team’s disqualification after Nesta Carter failed an anti-doping test. The team were presented with their medals by IOC Member Bernard Rajzman, an icon of the “Silver Generation” Brazilian volleyball team from the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984, at a ceremony attended by around 100 guests. The Brazilian NOC was represented by its Director General, Olympic champion Rogério Sampaio. Full info here.
29 October 2019 - On 21 October, the most successful coaches in the history of Brazilian national volleyball, Bernardinho and José Roberto Guimarães, were inducted into the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in São Paulo. Several volleyball stars were present, such as Bernard Rajzman, IOC Member and an icon of the “Silver Generation”, who was representing the NOC. An exclusive space open to the public will be set up at the Team Brazil Training Centre, the entity's future administrative headquarters. More details here.
17 September 2019 - At the beginning of September, the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) presented details of its doping prevention and education programme. The objective of the programme is to develop awareness and information for the protection of athletes, expanding access to anti-doping education right from the earliest stages of the development of Olympic athletes. In addition to journalists and opinion-leaders, BOC staff and guests from partner institutions in the Brazilian anti-doping system also attended the presentation held at the BOC headquarters. The BOC Director General, Olympic champion Rogério Sampaio, opened the event, during which BOC Doping Prevention and Education Manager Christian Trajano (photo) made the presentation. More info here.
05 August 2019 - On 24 July, Team Brazil celebrated the one-year-to-go milestone before the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in the heart of the Pan-American village in Lima. The Brazilian delegation attended the official welcome ceremony, held by the organising committee of the Pan-American Games. About 80 members of Team Brazil, including the President of the Brazilian NOC, Paulo Wanderley, attended the ceremony. More details here. In addition, the Brazilian NOC announced a parternship with the production company Mauricio de Sousa Produções, which publishes Turma da Mônica, one of the most famous comic book series in the world, with a view to boosting the number of Brazil’s fans at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. This partnership will involve joint projects and initiatives between the famous comic book and the members of the Brazilian delegation in Japan and their fans. More details here.
22 July 2019 - Children and families came together on 14 July in front of Japan House in São Paulo to see Olympic judo champion Rafael Silva and world artistic gymnastics champion Daiane dos Santos, as well as Team Brazil mascot Ginga, for the inauguration of the #Somos Time Brasil sculpture by the Brazilian NOC. The NOC wants to draw the public’s attention to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, which are just one year away. The sculpture will later be moved to Liberty Square for another NOC event to celebrate one year until Tokyo 2020. More infohere.
15 July 2019 - The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) has presented the progress achieved by the 32 confederations that joined the Management, Ethics and Transparency Programme (MET). Developed by the COB to improve the administrative processes of confederations using a reference model, the MET brought several benefits to the entities that joined the programme, such as structured organisational evolution, maximising the use of available resources, and increased transparency for sponsors and society, among others. All the confederations that have implemented the MET already have an Athletes’ Commission and strategic planning, for example. In addition to representatives from the confederations, COB President Paulo Wanderley and IOC Member Bernard Rajzman were also present at the event. More info here.
08 July 2019 - The Hall of Fame of the Brazilian Olympic Committee will have 10 new members in 2019: Chiaki Ishii, who became Brazil’s first-ever Olympic judo medallist at Munich 1972; Hortencia and Paula, Olympic silver medallists in basketball at Atlanta 1996; Joaquim Cruz, Olympic champion in the 800m at Los Angeles 1984; the late Guilherme Paraense, Brazil's first Olympic gold medallist (Antwerp 1920, shooting); João do Pulo, two-time Olympic bronze medallist in athletics; Maria Lenk (swimming), the first South American woman to compete in the Olympic Games, at Los Angeles 1932; Sylvio Magalhães Padilha, the first South American to compete in an Olympic final, in athletics in Berlin in 1936; and volleyball coaches Bernardinho (two-time Olympic champion) and José Roberto Guimarães (three-time Olympic champion). The 10 sporting idols will leave their mark by casting moulds of their hands or feet – with images of the faces of posthumous honourees to be used – at events such as Olympic Day, the one-year-to-go celebrations for Tokyo 2020, the Youth School Games and the Brazil Olympic Prize ceremony. More details here.
28 June 2019 - Sports clinics, educational activities for hundreds of children, a chat with Olympic medallist Yane Marques and a Hall of Fame with Hortência Marcari (more info here) were on the programme of the 2019 Olympic Day celebration hosted by the Olympic Committee of Brazil. The event was held on 25 June at the Time Brasil Training Center at Maria Lenk Water Park in Rio de Janeiro. The activities, part of the Transforma programme, brought together around 250 children who attended four sports clinics and watched a play based on the Olympic values. More details here.
18 April 2019 - On the 10th anniversary of the Brazilian Olympic Institute (IOB), the Brazilian Olympic Congress was attended by over 1,200 people in São Paulo on 13 April. Sponsored by the Brazilian Olympic Committee, the first edition of the Congress brought together global sports management leaders. Subjects such as sports organisation systems, strategies for increasing competitiveness, team management, training loads for Olympic athletes, health in sport, ethics, governance and compliance in sport, and talent identification and development were discussed. More info on www.cob.org.br
01 April 2019 - The Brazil Olympic Committee welcomed an illustrious visitor on 25 March; Aída dos Santos (right on the photo) was the only female athlete in the Brazilian delegation to the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games. She participated in a debate on women in sport, along with two-time Olympic champion Fabi Alvim and UN Women’s Project Manager Carolina Ferracini. The 82-year-old athlete told her story of overcoming resistance, at a time when women suffered a great deal of prejudice in sport. The event highlighted how far women have come in various sectors of the sporting world. Today, the COB has 128 women and 108 men, with women holding 43.5% of leadership positions. In addition, in partnership with UN Women, the NOC has developed a Policy for Preventing and Combating Moral and Sexual Harassment in Sport. Another fact to be celebrated was the success of the 100% women-led mission to the 2019 South American Beach Games in Rosário (Argentina). More details here.
18 March 2019 - To celebrate 500 days to go before the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Brazilian NOC unveiled the 12th WE ARE TEAM BRAZIL (#SOMOS TIME BRASIL) sculpture at Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, in the presence of some top names in Brazilian sport and NOC Vice-President Marco La Porta, who spoke about the work the NOC has been doing. Standing more than five metres wide and two metres high, the green, yellow and blue sculpture will enable the public to get involved in an incentive campaign, with the encouragement of Brazilian athletes. More details here.
01 March 2019 - Brazil will be sending a mission headed exclusively by women to the South American Beach Games Rosario 2019, which will be held from 14 to 23 March. The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) will send a team of nine sports professionals (photo above) to coordinate the delegation of 62 athletes who will be entering the competitions in nine sports disciplines. Mariana Vieira de Mello, COB Planning and Sport Performance Manager, will be acting as Chef de Mission. More info here. In addition, as the pre-Olympic season starts, the COB Olympic Laboratory is working at full capacity. One of the legacies of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the Laboratory has been in full operation since 2017. Last year, 2,256 evaluation actions were offered to 325 athletes from 16 different confederations. The COB’s goal is that, by the time of Tokyo 2020, services will have been provided to all the Brazilian Olympic confederations. More info here.
25 February 2019 - Managed by the Brazilian NOC since 2008, the Team Brazil Training Centre brings together leading Brazilian athletes from various sports every day. Many athletes from various countries also use the facilities at the Maria Lenk Aquatic Park in Rio de Janeiro. Since the start of 2019, athletes and coaches from the USA, Great Britain, Italy, Russia, Ukraine and other countries have been training at this site, which offers a state-of-the art structure for elite athlete training. More info here.
15 January 2019 - At the 20th edition of the Brazil Olympic Awards, sponsored by the Brazilian NOC, the 2018 IOC Olympism in Action trophy was awarded to judo coach Geraldo Bernardes (photo). A mentor to Rio 2016 Olympic champion Rafaela Silva and Athens 2014 bronze medallist Flávio Canto, Geraldo Bernardes is one of the founders of the Institut Reação, which has already catered to over 10,000 children and young people in socially vulnerable conditions and coached the judokas on the Rio 2016 Refugee Olympic Team, Yolande Bikasa and Popole Misenga. Other awards presented at the gala celebration included the Best Athletes of the Year 2018, awarded to swimmer Ana Marcela Cunha and canoeist Isaquias Queiroz. More details here. The Brazilian NOC’s Hall of Fame was also inaugurated. More details here.
20 December 2018 - In early December, the Brazilian NOC launched its Policy on the Fight Against and Prevention of Moral and Sexual Harassment, which will apply to all levels of national sport. The NOC is thereby reaffirming its commitment to a healthy environment in sport and is making an open channel available for athletes to report cases of pyschological and sexual abuse. The policy will also apply to members of the Brazilian delegations at international competitions, all NOC management and staff members, service providers and volunteers. In drafting the policy, the NOC received support from UN Women and used as a point of refererence the IOC’s toolkit on safeguarding athletes from harassment and abuse, which was issued in November 2017 as part of Olympic Agenda 2020. The policy was presented to NOC staff attending an information briefing at the NOC’s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. More details here.
10 December 2018 - The largest school competition ever held in Brazil ended on 25 November. Organised by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) since 2005, for thefirst time the Youth School Games brought together the two age groups (12 to 14 and15 to 17) for a national phase that stirred up the city of Natal, taking sport, education and citizenship to about 5000 athletes/students from 2,157 public and private schools in every Brazilian state. The competitions also involved 464referees, and 220 volunteers, coaches and observers from eight sports federations. A 25-member Japanese delegation was invited to enter the competitions as part of an exchange programme with the cities where Team Brazil will be staying duringtheOlympic Games Tokyo 2020. The Youth School Games have already provided a springboard for several elite athletes, like judo Olympic Champion Sarah Menezes and world champion Mayra Aguiar. The COB Olympic Values Promotion Programmewas also an important element at the Games. In cooperation with UN Environment, the Clean Beach Operation promoted a cleaning initiative at the Ponta Negra beach on 22 November. More details here.
6 November 2018 - On 24 October, the Brazilian NOC opened its doors to schoolchildren and teachers from the Rio de Janeiro municipal school system. Over 70 children aged 6 to 9 from schools in Jacarepaguá were able to learn about the Olympic Movement through fun cultural and sports activities at the NOC headquarters. The children also had an opportunity to meet the Brazilian team’s mascot, Ginga the jaguar. The NOC open-doors initiative is a joint one supported by the NOC Transform programme and the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Secretariat of Education. More details here.
30 October 2018 - The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) recently took Rio 2016 swimming marathon medallist Poliana Okimoto to visit the school that was named after her – the Espaço de Desenvolvimento Infantil Poliana Okimoto – in Santa Cruz, in the western zone of Rio de Janeiro. She was enthusiastically welcomed by the schoolchildren and was moved by the tribute, the main objective of which was to recognise Poliana’s efforts and courage in overcoming hardships, and to encourage new generations to get involved in sport. After the Olympic Games Rio 2016, several municipal schools were named after Team Brazil medallists. Now, the Transform programme is taking the athletes to visit these schools to see the homage first-hand and experience the appreciation of the children. In return, the children learn about the Olympic values and get to meet their idols face to face. The initiative resulted from a partnership between the Transform programme, designed to promote the Olympic values of the COB, and the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Secretariat of Education. More info here.
3 September 2018 - The Brazil Olympic Committee (COB) has just hired a Compliance Officer to preserve its ethical culture and integrity. William Evangelista da Silva (photo), a lawyer, will report directly to the Compliance Committee of the COB Ethics Council, and will manage the COB Reporting and Ethics Channel established in May this year. Evangelista da Silva is experienced in the implementation and management of the compliance programme of public infrastructure and lighting sector companies. The Ethics Council was established when Paulo Wanderley took office as COB president and is formed of five members elected on 23 March 2018. More info at www.cob.org.br
26 June 2018 - To commemorate Olympic Day, a full programme of sport and cultural activities was sponsored by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) on 21 June. Approximately 360 children from the Rio de Janeiro public school system and from projects of the Olympic Legacy Governance Authority (AGLO) took part in the event held at Barra Olympic Park, which was attended by Emanuel Rego, beach volleyball Olympic champion (Athens 2004). The event was organised in partnership with the Transforma (Transform) project, the programme that promotes the Olympic values embraced by the COB, the AGLO and the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Secretariat of Education, which took children from eight schools in Cidade de Deus and Jacarepaguá to take part in the activities. More info on www.cob.org.br.
4 June 2018 - The 23 May, the Brazilian NOC launched the sixth edition of its seven-month Athlete Career Programme. An initiative of the Brazilian Olympic Institute (IOB) and NOC Education Department, the programme’s aim is to prepare athletes and former athletes for a more efficient career transition and help them find the best approach to enter the labour market. NOC President Paulo Wanderley welcomed the 21 participants of this 2018 edition. The programme’s services include internship opportunities, trainee programmes and professional experience, and scholarships in several areas. More info at www.cob.org.br.