In huge news for a range of Brazilian athletes and their respective sports, not to mention foreign experts seeking opportunities in Brazil, semi-public energy company Petrobras has committed to invest R$265 million in five lucky sporting disciplines to assist the country’s chances of winning medals at Rio 2016.
Boxing, fencing, rowing, weight-lifting and taekwondo are the sports to receive funding, which will be spread amongst direct payments to athletes to support their training, new equipment and offshore training placements. The company stated that they chose the sports based on the high amount of medals on offer in each one, giving the country a better chance at climbing the rankings to within the top ten – At Beijing 2008 Brazil was 23rd with just three gold.
Initially, 110 athletes will benefit from the funding: 26 boxers, 16 fencers, 24 rowers, 24 taekwondo athletes and 20 weightlifters.
The move by Petrobras comes during a period of high activity in Brazil´s Olympic sport sector, with a range of groups including the country´s Olympic Committee president (see report earlier this week), Sport minister and various sport federations all calling for greater investment in Olympic disciplines to ensure a solid performance at Rio 2016, reflecting a similar situation in Australia in the lead up to Sydney 2000.
A report this week has also detailed how Brazil has never participated in six of the sports to be contested at Rio 2016 (field hockey, badminton, trampoline, women´s boxing, golf and rugby). The article points out a range of activities already underway, including specialist training centres and junior programs, in an attempt to prepare the country to fill this void for the first Olympics ever in South America.