Brazil at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Brazil competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's twenty-first appearance at the Summer Olympics, having missed the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. The Brazilian Olympic Committee sent a total of 258 athletes to the Games, 136 men and 122 women, to compete in 24 sports. Brazil left London with a total of 17 Olympic medals, winning their third largest number of medals at a single games.
Brazilian athletes won its first ever medals in two sports: modern pentathlon, with the bronze medal won by Yane Marques in women's event, and in gymnastics, with the gold medal achieved by Arthur Zanetti in [Gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's|Men's rings|men's rings].
Summary
The good overall result of the Brazilian team was begun by the judo team during the first days of the Games. The first gold medal went to the judoka Sarah Menezes in the [Judo at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's|Women's 48 kg|women's 48 kg] category. Menezes was the first Brazilian woman judoka to become an Olympic champion. At the Beijing Olympics, she competed at the age of 18 and, inexperienced, was defeated in the first fight. The gold medal came with victory by judge's decision over Romanian Alina Dumitru, who had been the champion in Beijing. It was also the first gold medal in judo for Brazil in 20 years, the previous was won by Rogério Sampaio, in Barcelona 1992. The other 3 medals in judo at the 2012 Olympics were bronze: Felipe Kitadai in men's 60 kg, Mayra Aguiar in women's 78 kg and Rafael Silva in men's +100 kg.In the second week of the Games, the Brazilian Olympics team achieved another first; the gymnast Arthur Zanetti won the gold medal in men's rings. Arthur Zanetti had already shown his potential in the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships when he won the silver medal. After being 4th place in the qualification to the rings final, with a score of 15.616, he won the gold medal with a score of 15.900. He was the first gymnast from Latin America to win an Olympic medal and also the first from the southern hemisphere.
On the penultimate day of the Games, Team Brasil won its third gold medal, the only gold they won in a team event at this Olympics. In the women's volleyball competition, the Brazil women's national volleyball team, the reigning Olympic champions retained their title. Their path to the title was not straight forward. The first game in the group stage against the Turkish team almost ended in defeat. This was followed by a shock loss to the United States. Due to a defeat for South Korea in the other game, the combination of results meant Brazil faced elimination, having to win the next two games against China and Serbia and hoping for the United States to win their last two games. That combination of results occurred. This meant Brazil faced a quarter-final clash against Russia. This game is considered one of the greatest volleyball games of all time, due to a fierce rivalry that had developed over previous clashes, such as the semi-finals of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, the 2006 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship and the 2010 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship. In all these games, Brazil ended up losing to Russia in the fifth set by extremely tight scores. This game followed the script of the previous decisive games, but with a twist; Brazil managed to reverse six match points throughout the game. In the fifth set, after several physical and mental tests, the team managed to win the game, winning the set 21 to 19.
In the semi-finals, the team beat Japan 3 to 0. Thus, the team managed to reach its second consecutive final against another great rival, the United States. This was a repeat of the final held 4 years earlier in Beijing. But this time, the United States team was the favorite to win. After losing the first set, Brazil won the next three sets and the team won their second gold medal. For half of individuals in the team it was also their second gold medal: Fabiana Claudino, Fabiana de Oliveira, Paula Pequeno, Jaqueline Carvalho, Sheilla Castro and Thaísa Menezes made history to be the first Brazilian women to become two-time Olympic champions. The coach José Roberto Guimarães also wrote his name in history as the first three-time Olympic volleyball champion.
The Brazil men's national volleyball team won the silver medal in their tournament, losing the gold medal 3 to 2 to Russia in a dramatic match. Brazilian won the first two sets, and had two gold medal match points, but, led by Dmitriy Muserskiy, the Russians won the next 3 sets and the gold medal.
In the beach volleyball two medals were won. In the Men's beach volleyball, Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego reached the final against the Germans Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann and fought a balanced duel that ended with a tight victory by the German team, 2 sets to 1. In the women's beach volleyball, a bronze medal was won by Juliana Felisberta and Larissa França.
In the football men's tournament, the Brazil national under-23 football team led by Neymar advanced as favourite to the final against Mexico, after 5 victories in 5 matches. But a fast goal from Mexican Oribe Peralta with only 29 seconds gone in the first half, destabilized the Brazilian players. In the second half of the match, Peralta scored again at 74 minutes. Brazil scored a goal in the 91st minute, but there was no time for the tie and the match ended in 2 to 1.
In the pool at the 2012 Summer Olympics, two medals were achieved. Thiago Pereira finally won an Olympic medal in the Men's 400 m individual medley with a South American record of 4:08.86. César Cielo, the incumbent Olympic and World Champion, won the bronze medal in the Men's 50 m freestyle.
In the boxing, Brazil won medals for the first time since the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. In the first ever [Boxing at the Summer Olympics|women's Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics|boxing event at the Olympics], Adriana Araujo had the honor of being the first Brazilian woman to win a medal in boxing, a bronze in the Women's lightweight. It was also the 100th medal for Brazil at the Olympics. Esquiva Falcão was the silver medalist in men's middleweight after losing to the Japanese boxer Ryota Murata by 14 to 13. Esquiva's brother Yamaguchi Falcão was the bronze medalist in the men's light heavyweight.
Sailors Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada took the bronze medal in the Star class. Robert became one of the most successful Brazilian athletes in history with a total of five Olympic medals, tying the record of Torben Grael. He is also one of the sailors with the largest number of Olympic medals of all time, along with Torben Grael and British Ben Ainslie.
Finally, Brazil won a medal in the last final of the 2012 Summer Olympics: the women's event in modern pentathlon. Yane Marques was the bronze medalist with 5340 points. This was the first medal ever won by Brazilians in modern pentathlon at the Summer Olympics.
With Rio de Janeiro being the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics, a Brazilian segment was performed during the closing ceremony.
Medalists
Delegation
The Brazilian Olympic Committee selected a team of 258 athletes, 136 men and 122 women, to compete in all sports, except badminton and field hockey; it was the nation's second-largest team sent to the Olympics, failing by only five athletes short of the record in Beijing. There was only a single competitor in archery, slalom canoeing, modern pentathlon, and freestyle wrestling. Brazil also marked its Olympic return in men's basketball after a sixteen-year absence.The Brazilian team featured three defending champions from Beijing, including long jumper Maurren Maggi and freestyle swimmer César Cielo, who both became the nation's first athletes to win gold in their sporting events. Equestrian show jumper Rodrigo Pessoa, and table tennis player Hugo Hoyama became the second and third Brazilian athlete to compete in six Olympic Games. Pessoa, a triple Olympic medalist, was also the nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony. Meanwhile, three athletes made their fifth Olympic appearance: beach volleyballer and double medalist Emanuel Rego, sailor and multiple-time medalist Robert Scheidt, and football player Formiga. Equestrian eventing rider Serguei Fofanoff, at age 43, was the oldest athlete of the team, while slalom kayaker Ana Sátila was the youngest at age 16.
Other notable Brazilian athletes featured NBA basketball players Leandro Barbosa and Tiago Splitter, taekwondo jin and bronze medalist Natália Falavigna, double New York marathon champion Marílson dos Santos, and medley swimmer and multiple-time Pan American games medalist Thiago Pereira.
The following is the list of number of competitors participating in the Games. Note that reserves in fencing, field hockey, football, and handball are not counted as athletes:
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
| Archery | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Athletics | 18 | 18 | 36 |
| Basketball | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| Boxing | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| Canoeing | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Cycling | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Diving | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Equestrian | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| Fencing | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Football | 18 | 18 | 36 |
| Gymnastics | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Handball | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Judo | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Modern pentathlon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Rowing | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Sailing | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Shooting | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Swimming | 15 | 5 | 20 |
| Synchronized swimming | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Table tennis | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Taekwondo | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Tennis | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Triathlon | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Volleyball | 16 | 16 | 32 |
| Weightlifting | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Wrestling | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 136 | 122 | 258 |
Archery
Brazil qualified one archer.Athletics
Brazilian athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events :;Men
;Track & road events
;Field events
;Combined events – Decathlon
| Athlete | Event | 100 m | 400 m | 1500 m | Final | Rank | |||||||
| Luiz Alberto de Araújo | Result | 10.70 | 7.16 | 13.52 | 1.93 | 48.25 | 14.79 | 44.76 | 4.60 | 51.59 | 4:38.04 | 7849 | 19 |
| Luiz Alberto de Araújo | Points | 929 | 852 | 699 | 740 | 897 | 875 | 762 | 790 | 612 | 693 | 7849 | 19 |
;Women
;Track & road events
;Field events
Basketball
Both Brazil's men and women basketball teams qualified for the events.- Men's team event – 1 team of 12 players
- Women's team event – 1 team of 12 players
Men's tournament
;Roster;Group play
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;Quarter-final
Women's tournament
;Roster- Iziane Castro Marques was released after indiscipline off the court before the Games. No other athlete has replaced her and the team had only 11 players.
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Boxing
Brazil qualified boxers for the following events;Men
;Women
Canoeing
Slalom
Brazil qualified boats for the following eventsSprint
Brazil qualified boats for the following eventsQualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final ; FB = Qualify to final B
Cycling
Brazil qualified 6 cyclists for the following eventsRoad
;Men;Women
Diving
Brazil qualified three divers for the games.;Men
;Women
Equestrian
Brazil qualified the full quota in show jumping. Brazil qualified the full quota in eventing and a single athlete in dressage.Jumping
Fencing
Brazil qualified 3 fencers.;Men
Football
Both Brazil's men and women football teams qualified for the events.- Men's team event – 1 team of 18 players
- Women's team event – 1 team of 18 players
Men's tournament
;Team roster;Group play
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;Quarter-final
;Semi-final
;Gold medal match
;Final rank:
Women's tournament
;Team roster;Group play
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;Quarter-final
Gymnastics
Artistic
Brazil qualified 3 men in the individual all-around and qualified a women's team.;Men
;Women
;Team
Handball
Brazil qualified for the women's event by winning the 2011 Pan American Games.- Women's team event – 1 team of 14 players
Women's tournament
;Team roster;Group play
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;Quarter-final
Judo
;Men;Women
Modern pentathlon
Brazil qualified one athlete.Rowing
Brazil qualified the following boats.;Men
;Women
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A ; FB=Final B ; FC=Final C ; FD=Final D ; FE=Final E ; FF=Final F ; SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage
Sailing
Nine Brazilian sailors qualified to compete in London.;Men
;Women
M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race
Shooting
Two Brazilian shooters qualified to compete in London.;Men
;Women
Swimming
Brazilian swimmers achieved qualifying standards in the following events, and 1 at the Olympic Selection Time ): Glauber Silva obtained qualification for 100 m butterfly event but was removed from the Olympic team after drawing doping suspension.Qualifiers for the latter rounds of all events were decided on a time only basis, therefore positions shown are overall results versus competitors in all heats.
;Men
;Women
Synchronized swimming
Brazil qualified 2 quota places in synchronized swimming.Table tennis
Brazil qualified 6 athletes.;Men
;Women
Tennis
Brazil qualified four different players in the men's singles and doubles competitions.;Men
Triathlon
Brazils qualified 2 men and 1 woman.| Athlete | Event | Swim | Trans 1 | Bike | Trans 2 | Run | Total Time | Rank |
| Reinaldo Colucci | Men's | 18:56 | 0:41 | 58:47 | 0:28 | 32:07 | 1:50:59 | 36 |
| Diogo Sclebin | Men's | 18:10 | 0:41 | 59:36 | 0:31 | 32:53 | 1:51:51 | 44 |
| Pâmella Oliveira | Women's | 18:27 | 0:42 | 1:08:16 | 0:36 | 36:01 | 2:04:02 | 30 |
Volleyball
Indoor
The men's team qualified in third place at the 2011 FIVB Men's World Cup. The women's team secured a berth after winning the South American qualification.- Men's indoor event – 1 team of 12 players
- Women's indoor event – 1 team of 12 players
Men's tournament
;Team roster;Group play
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;Quarter-final
;Semi-final
;Gold medal match
Women's tournament
;Team roster;Group play
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;Quarter-final
;Semi-final
;Gold medal match
Weightlifting
Brazil qualified 1 man and 1 woman.Wrestling
Brazil qualified in the following event.;Women's freestyle