Brazilian President Honours Paris 2024 Athletes
President Lula da Silva receives the Paris 2024 Brazilian athletes in the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil. Photo: X/ @LulaOficial
August 26, 2024 Hour: 5:33 pm
Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received 20 Olympic medallists from his country on Monday, to whom he expressed his pride in their achievements in Paris.
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Among the athletes present were the medallists Caio Bonfim, silver in the athletic march; Beatriz Souza, gold and bronze in Judo; Júlia Soares, bronze in team gymnastics; Edival Pontes, Netinho, bronze in taekwondo; Augusto Akio, the Japinha, bronze in skateboard.
Lula also appreciated the performance of other athletes who did not win medals, among which he cited the women’s football team, whose performance “just for having won against Spain and France, it was worth it.”
The Olympic athletes who represented our country.
They will meet shortly with the Minister of Sports, André Fufuca, and President Lula.
In his words, Lula lamented the lack of investment in sport in schools and said that Brazil is not an Olympic power because of lack of opportunities.
“We are also going to conduct a survey of Brazilian public companies to see how many of them sponsor Olympic athletes. Because it is very easy to sponsor a team that is a champion. I want to see them sponsor a boy or girl from the outskirts of this country,” Lula said.
The Brazilian Head of State also offered to hold a meeting to plan the next Olympic cycle, listening to the needs of athletes and confederations. He said he would seek partnerships with governors to improve the infrastructure for athletes and children who are starting out in sports activities as well.
“I dreamed that Brazil could become a great Olympic power, I dreamed, I believed that we could become a power. And then time went by and I discovered that good will is not enough, we need policies and investments so that we can become an Olympic power,” said the president.
Brazil won 20 medals in Paris 2024, one less than in Tokyo 2020, which was the best Olympic edition for the South American country.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: Folha de S.Paulo - Folha de Prenambuco - EFE