Brazil thrives and says goodbye to the 2024 Paralympic Games in the top five for the first time

Brasil de Fato

Brazil ended its participation in the Paris Paralympics among the top five countries on the medal table, beating its own podium record and celebrating the best ranking ever. There were 89 medals: 23 golds, 25 silvers and 38 bronzes. The country surpassed the number of golds in a single edition. The previous record – 22 medals – was set in Tokyo 2020.

The Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB, in Portuguese) expected these results, which foresaw good numbers for this competition. In the last four editions, the country had been in the top ten, which gave the CPB an optimistic projection for this edition, according to Rafael Reis, a specialist in Paralympic sport and doctoral student at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR, in Portuguese).

“They worked with some figures, including for the financing of Paralympic sports. So, it was more or less what the committee expected,” he says. 

In addition to the record number of podiums, Brazil celebrated two other historic achievements. The country beat the 200-medal mark in athletics, with Thiago Paulino’s silver in the weight throw; and 150 in swimming, also with a silver medal. The winner was swimmer Gabriel Bandeira, in the men’s 100-meter backstroke. In total, Brazil returned home with 35 medals in swimming and 26 in athletics. 

Standing out in these two categories is an element that adds to Brazil’s success at the 2024 Paralympic Games, as these sports have a large number of medals up for grabs.

However, in addition to the final number of podiums, a good performance in several categories is also an achievement, says Reis. Brazil sent 280 parathletes to the Games and made the podium in 16 of the 20 sports in which it competed. In the overall medal table, the country is behind China (219), Great Britain (124), the United States (104) and the Netherlands (55, with only one more gold than Brazil).

Reis says that, in addition to sporting success, the Paralympics have had an impact on spectators, engaging them and raising discussions on social media. “We can see debates happening and we’re in a social media phenomenon, so this is very noticeable,” he says. “This is the intangible legacy of the Games,” the researcher believes.

Brazil is a powerhouse

Brazil cemented its place in the top ten at the Paralympics in Beijing 2008, when the country won 47 podiums: 16 golds, 14 silvers and 17 bronzes.

In London 2012, the number of podiums decreased, but the number of golds increased, and the country came seventh on the medal table (21 golds, 14 silvers and 8 bronzes). At the Rio Games in 2016, the number of podiums jumped to 72, but a slight drop in the number of golds left the country in eighth position. In Tokyo 2020, the country returned to position number seven, with the same number of podiums as in Rio, but a record number of golds: 22.

According to Rafael Reis, this scenario can be explained by three factors. One of them is the founding of the CPB in 1994, which centralized the organization and financing of Paralympic sports. In addition, Brazil has a large population, which increases the chance of identifying talented athletes – and social determinants that increase the number of people with disabilities. “Unfortunately, poverty, lack of basic development and sanitation and violence mean there are many people with disabilities [in Brazil],” explains Reis.

In addition to the factors abovementioned, there is robust funding for Paralympic sports, the main pillars of which are the Agnelo/Piva Law, which allocates lottery funds to sport; the Sports Incentive Law, which allows companies and individuals to waive taxes to benefit sports projects; and the Athlete Grant, which guarantees direct salary to athletes at different levels of their careers.

Check out Brazil’s medal table for the 2024 Paralympic Games

GOLD (23 medals) 

Para Athletics (10) 
Ricardo Mendonça – men’s 100m – T37 
Petrúcio Ferreira – men’s 100m – T47 
Yetsin Jacques – men’s 1500m – T11 
Julio Cesar Agripino – men’s 5000m – T11 
Claudiney Batista – men’s discus throw – F56 
Jerusa Geber – women’s 100m – T11 
Rayane Soares – women’s 400m – T13 
Fernanda Yara – women’s 400m – T47 
Elizabeth Gomes – women’s discus throw F54 
Jerusa Geber – women’s 100m T11 

Para Swimming (7) 
Gabriel Araujo – men’s 50m backstroke S2 
Gabriel Araujo – men’s 100m backstroke S2 
Gabriel Araujo – men’s 200m freestyle S2 
Carol Santiago – women’s 50m freestyle S13 
Carol Santiago – women’s 100m freestyle S12 
Carol Santiago – women’s 100m backstroke S12 
Talisson Glock – women’s 400m freestyle S6 

Para Judo (4) 
Alana Maldonado – women’s 70 kg J2 
Willians Araujo – men’s +90 kg J1 
Arthur Silva – men’s +90 kg J1 
Rebeca Silva – women’s +70 kg J2 

Para Taekwondo (1) 
Ana Carolina Moura – women K44 -65kg 

Para Powerlifting (2) 
Mariana D´Andrea – women’s up to 73kg 
Tayana Medeiros – women’s up to 86kg 

Para Canoe (1) 
Fernando Rufino – men’s Va’a single 200m – VL2 

SILVER (25) 

Para Athletics (11) 
Joeferson Marinho – men’s 100m – T12 
Ricardo Gomes – men’s 200m – T37 
Bartolomeu Chaves – men’s 400m – T37 
Aser Ramos – men’s long jump – T36 
Thiago Paulino – men’s shot put – F57 
Rayane Soares – women’s 100m – T13 
Thalita Simplício – women’s 400m – T11 
Zileide Silva – women’s long jump – T20 
Wanna Brito – women’s shot put F32 
Elizabeth Gomes – women’s shot put F54 
Raissa Machado – women’s javelin throw F56 

Para Swimming (9) 
Phelipe Melo – men’s 50m freestyle S10 
Wendell Belarmino – men’s 50m freestyle S11 
Talisson Glock – men’s 100m freestyle S6 
Gabriel Bandeira – men’s 100m backstroke S14 
Cecilia Araújo – women’s 50m freestyle S8 
Patricia dos Santos – women’s 50m breaststroke SB3 
Carol Santiago – women’s 100m breaststroke SB12 
Debora Carneiro – women’s 100m breaststroke SB14 
Mixed 4x100m freestyle relay – 49 points 

Para Canoe (2) 
Luis Cardoso – men’s kayak single 200m – KL1 
Igor Tofalini – men’s Va’a single 200m – VL2 

Para Judo (2) 
Brenda Freitas – women’s -70 kg J1 
Erika Zoaga – women’s +70 kg J1 

Para Triathlon (1) 
Ronan Cordeiro – PTS5 

Shooting Para Sport (1) 
Alexandre Galgani – Shooting para sport – mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2 

BRONZE (38) 

Para Athletics (14) 
Ariosvaldo Fernandes – men’s 100m – T53 
Vinicius Rodrigues – men’s 100m – T63 
Christian Costa – men’s 200m – T37 
Julio Cesar Agripino – men’s 1500m – T11 
Yeltsin Jacques – men’s 5000m – T11 
Paulo Henrique – men’s long jump – T13 
Mateus Evangelista – men’s long jump – T13 
André Rocha – men’s discus throw F52 
Cicero Nobre – men’s javelin throw F57 
Lorena Spoladore – women’s 100m T11 
Veronica Hipolito – women’s 100m T36 
Maria Clara Augusto – women’s 400m T47 
Antonia Keyla Barros – women’s 1500m T20 
Giovanna Boscolo – women’s club throw F32 
Thomas de Moraes – men’s 400m T47 

Para Swimming (10) 
Gabriel Bandeira – men’s 100m butterfly S14 
Talisson Glock – men’s 200m medley SM6 
Mariana Gesteira -women’s 100m freestyle S9 
Mariana Gesteira – women’s 100m backstroke S9 
Beatriz Carneiro – women’s 100m breaststroke SB14 
Mayara Petzold – women’s 50m butterfly S6 
Lidia Vieira – women’s 150m individual medley SM4 
Mixed 4x50m freestyle relay – 20 points 
Mized 4x100m freestyle relay – S14 
Lidia Cruz – women’s 50m backstroke S4 

Goalball (1) 
Men’s team 

Para Badminton (1) 
Vitor Tavares – men’s single SH6 

Para Canoe (1) 
Miqueias Rodrigues – men’s kayak single 200m – KL3 

Para Judo (2) 
Rosicleide Andrade – women’s -48 kg J1 
Marcelo Casanova – men’s +90 kg J2 

Para Powerlifting (2) 
Lara Lima – women’s up to 41kg 
Maria Fatima – women’s up to 67kg 

Para Table tennis (4) 
Bruna Alexandre – women’s singlesWS10 
Bruna Alexandre/Dani Rauen – women’s doubles – WD20 
Luiz Manara/Claudio Massad – men’s doubles – MD18 
Catia Oliveira/Joyce Oliveira – women’s doubles – WD5 

Para Taekwondo (1) 
Silvana Fernandes – women K44 -57kg

Blind football (1) 
Men’s team