Brazil competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's nineteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics, excluding the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. The Brazilian Olympic Committee (, COB) sent the nation's largest ever delegation in history to the Games. A total of 243 athletes, 124 men and 119 women, competed in 24 sports.
Brazil left Athens with a total of 10 medals (5 golds, 2 silver, and 3 bronze), the lowest in Summer Olympics since 1992. Although the nation's final medal count could not surpass its previous records set in Atlanta (15 medals) and Sydney (12 medals), Brazil produced a record of five golds at these edition, a performance only surpassed 12 years later in Rio de Janeiro, when Brazil was the host country and won seven gold medals.
Brazil conquered its first gold medal ever in Equestrian as also in a mixed Olympic event, with the gold medal won by Rodrigo Pessoa in individual jumping.
Summary
Until the Athens 2004 Games, Brazil had only a two-time Olympic champion, the legendary Adhemar Ferreira da Silva, who shone on the triple jump in Helsinki-1952 and Melbourne-1956. That changed when sailor Robert Scheidt shone in the Laser class and secured his second gold medal (he had already been champion in Atlanta 1996).
Also in the sailing, Torben Grael and Marcelo Ferreira reached gold in the Star class. Both became two-time Olympic champions since they had won in Atlanta-1996. With the achievement, Torben Grael wrote his name in history (at the time) as the greatest Olympic athlete in Brazil at all times, with five medals ( a performance also matched by Robert Scheidt 8 years later ). He is also one of the sailors with the largest number of Olympic medals at all times, along with Robert Scheidt and British Ben Ainslie.
In the men's volleyball the team coached by Bernardo Rezende and led by Gilberto Godoy Filho of the Brazil men's national volleyball team, Brazil defeated Italy in the final by 3 to 1 and secured the second gold medal of national volleyball in the Olympic Games. In the team were Maurício Lima and Giovane Gávio, remnants of the historic triumph of the tournament of Barcelona 1992.
In men's beach volleyball, Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos defeated the Spaniards Javier Bosma and Pablo Herrera in the final and secured the gold. It was the first gold medal ever won by Brazilian men in beach volleyball. In women's beach volleyball Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar again came to the decision, but as they did four years earlier in Sydney, they silver medalists, after losing to Kerri Walsh and Misty May.
Led by Formiga and Marta, women's national football team finally won the first Olympic medal ever. The team advanced to the final against United States. After a very tough match with a draw of 1–1 in regular time, the Americans won the gold medal match by 2–1 at extra time, leaving Brazil with the silver medal.
Brazilian judokas won two more podiums for Brazil. Leandro Guilheiro was responsible for giving the country the first medal in Athens, the bronze in men's 81 kg. The second Brazilian medal in that edition also came from judo, with the bronze of Flávio Canto, in men's 81 kg category.
In the men's marathon, one of the most remarkable scenes of the Athens 2004 Games, which gained worldwide notoriety, involved the marathon runner Vanderlei de Lima. He was leading the race, which closes the Olympics, when, at the time of the 36th of the 42 kilometers of the race, he was attacked by Irish religious fanatic Cornelius Horan. The Brazilian was pushed off the track by Cornelius. Despite that, Vanderlei returned to the race, but with the time lost in the unforeseen event, he was overtaken by the Italian Stefano Baldini and the American Mebrahtom Keflezighi. Vanderlei, meanwhile, maintained the third position and, thus, was left with the bronze medal. He was the first and so far the only Brazilian marathon runner to obtain an Olympic medal. Later, Vanderlei de Lima received the prestigious Pierre de Coubertin Medal to his achievements for sportsmanship. The medal, one of the most important awarded by the International Olympic Committee, is dedicated to athletes who value sport more than victory itself. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Vanderlei de Lima received the honour of lighting the Olympic Flame as the final member of the torch relay.
Brazilian equestrian and show jumper Rodrigo Pessoa was the originally the silver medalist in individual jumping. On October 8, 2004, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports ordered a suspension for Ireland's Cian O'Connor after his horse Waterford Crystal failed a doping test for fluphenazine and zuclopenthixol. Because O'Connor decided not to appeal and formally strip off his Olympic title in men's show jumping, silver Rodrigo Pessoa was subsequently awarded and received his gold medal at a public ceremony on Copacabana Beach in August 2005. This was the first and so far the only gold medal won by Brazil not only in Equestrian as also in a mixed Olympic event.
Medalists
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Medal Name Sport Event Date Robert Scheidt Sailing Laser class August 22 Emanuel RegoRicardo Santos Volleyball Men's beach volleyball August 25 Rodrigo Pessoa Equestrian Individual jumping August 27 Marcelo FerreiraTorben Grael Sailing Star class August 28 Volleyball Men's tournament August 29 Shelda BedeAdriana Behar Volleyball Women's beach volleyball August 24 Football Women's tournament August 26 Leandro Guilheiro Judo Men's 73 kg August 16 Flávio Canto Judo Men's 81 kg August 17 Vanderlei de Lima Athletics Men's marathon August 29 | style="text-align:left; width:22%; vertical-align:top;"|
Medals by sportSport TotalVolleyball2103Sailing2002Equestrian 1001Football 0101Judo 0022Athletics 0011Total52310
Medals by dateDate Total14 Aug000015 Aug000016 Aug001117 Aug001118 Aug000019 Aug000020 Aug000021 Aug000022 Aug100123 Aug000024 Aug010125 Aug100126 Aug010127 Aug100128 Aug100129 Aug1012Total52310
Medals by genderGender TotalMale4037Female0202Mixed/Open1001Total 5 2 3 10
Athletics
Brazilian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard). Marathon runner Vanderlei de Lima was awarded a prestigious Pierre de Coubertin Medal from the International Olympic Committee for sportsmanship after being attacked by Irish protester Cornelius Horan, who pushed him off the road four miles from the finish line.
Men Track & road events AthleteEventHeatQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRankVicente de Lima100 m10.234 Q10.263 Q10.288Did not advanceAndré da Silva100 m10.284 Q10.348Did not advanceJarbas Mascarenhas100 m10.344 Q10.307Did not advanceBasílio de Moraes Júnior200 m21.148Did not advanceCláudio Roberto Souza200 m20.704 Q20.645Did not advanceAnderson Jorge dos Santos400 m48.778colspan=2 Did not advanceOsmar dos Santos800 m1:45.904 Qcolspan=2 1:48.237Did not advanceHudson de Souza1500 m3:40.787 Qcolspan=2 3:38.839Did not advanceMárcio de Souza110 m hurdles13.434 Q13.545Did not advanceRedelén Melo dos Santos110 m hurdlesDid not advanceMatheus Inocêncio110 m hurdles13.452 Q13.331 Q13.344 Q13.497José Alessandro Bagio20 km walkcolspan=6 1:23:3314Mario José dos Santos50 km walkcolspan=6 4:20:1140Sérgio Galdino50 km walkcolspan=6 4:05:0226Vanderlei de LimaMarathoncolspan=6 2:12:11Andre Luiz RamosMarathoncolspan=6 Romulo Silvacolspan=6 Vicente de LimaAndré da SilvaÉdson RibeiroCláudio Roberto Souza4 × 100 m relay38.643 Qcolspan=4 38.678
Field events AthleteEventQualificationFinalDistancePositionDistancePositionJessé de LimaHigh jump2.2517Did not advanceJadel GregórioLong jump7.5032Did not advanceTriple jump17.205 Q17.315
Women Track & road events AthleteEventHeatQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRankRosemar Coelho Neto100 m11.435 Q11.457Did not advanceLucimar de Moura200 m23.404 Q23.448Did not advanceMaria Laura Almirao400 m52.105colspan=2 Did not advanceGeisa Coutinho400 m52.185colspan=2 Did not advanceLuciana de Paula Mendes800 m2:01.364 Qcolspan=2 2:02.007Did not advanceMaíla Machado100 m hurdles13.356colspan=2 Did not advanceAlessandra Picagevicz20 km walkcolspan=6 1:46:2148Marlene FortunatoMarathoncolspan=6 Márcia NarlochMarathoncolspan=6 Rosemar Coelho NetoKatia de JesusLucimar de MouraLuciana dos Santos4 × 100 m relay43.124colspan=4 Did not advanceMaria Laura AlmiraoGeisa CoutinhoLucimar TeodoroJosiane Tito4 × 400 m relay3:28.436colspan=4 Did not advance
Field events AthleteEventQualificationFinalDistancePositionDistancePositionElisângela AdrianoShot put17.4417Did not advanceDiscus throw58.1326Did not advanceKeila CostaLong jump6.3331Did not advance
Basketball
Summary TeamEventGroup StageQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal / OppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankBrazil women'sWomen's tournamentW 128–62W 87–75L 77–67W 82–63L 66–843 QW 67–63L 75–88L 62–714
Women's tournament
Roster
Group play
Quarterfinal
Semifinal
Bronze Medal Final
Boxing
AthleteEventRound of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankEdvaldo OliveiraFeatherweightW 43+–43L 15–30Did not advanceMyke CarvalhoLightweightL 24–39Did not advanceAlessandro MatosLight welterweightL 16–26Did not advanceGlaucelio AbreuMiddleweightL 36–41Did not advanceWashington SilvaLight heavyweightL 22–27Did not advance
Canoeing
Sprint AthleteEventHeatsSemifinalsFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankSebastián CuattrinMen's K-1 500 m1:40.9995 QS1:42.2138Did not advanceMen's K-1 1000 m3:36.5065 QS3:37.6827Did not advanceSebastian CuattrinSebastian SzubskiMen's K-2 500 m1:35.9176 QS1:37.4668Did not advance Qualification Legend: QF = Qualify to final; QS = Qualify to semifinal
Cycling
Road
Men
AthleteEventTimeRankMurilo FischerMen's road race5:50:3562Márcio MayDid not finishLuciano PagliariniDid not finish
Women
AthleteEventTimeRankJanildes FernandesWomen's road race3:40:4354
Mountain biking
Men
AthleteEventTimeRankEdvandro CruzMen's cross-country2:30:3533
Women
AthleteEventTimeRankJaqueline MourãoWomen's cross-country2:13:5218
Diving
Men AthleteEventsPreliminariesSemifinalsFinalPointsRankPointsRankPointsRankCésar Castro3 m springboard432.459 Q662.739 Q662.979Cassius Duran10 m platform387.7524Did not advanceHugo Parisi325.0832Did not advance
Women AthleteEventsPreliminariesSemifinalsFinalPointsRankPointsRankPointsRankJuliana Veloso3 m springboard265.2918 Q462.4518Did not advance10 m platform302.3116 Q469.9516Did not advance
Equestrian
Brazil has qualified two teams in eventing and jumping. Show jumper Rodrigo Pessoa originally claimed a silver medal in men's show jumping. On October 8, 2004, International Federation for Equestrian Sports announced that Waterford Crystal, owned by Ireland's Cian O'Connor, failed a horse doping test for fluphenazine and zuclopenthixol that formally stripped off O'Connor's Olympic title in early 2005. Pessoa was eventually presented with his gold medal at a ceremony on Copacabana Beach in August 2005.
Eventing AthleteHorseEventDressageCross-countryJumpingTotalQualifierFinalPenaltiesRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesRankRafael Gouveia Jr.MozartIndividual65.80594.8070.603930.00100.6047Did not advance100.6047Sergio MarinsRally LF70.00=6616.0086.005019.00105.0050Did not advance105.00 50Andre ParoLand Heir70.00=6616.80 #86.805137.00 #123.80 #54Did not advance123.80 54Raul SennaSuper Rocky76.00 #7314.4090.40 #555.0095.4044Did not advance95.4044Remo TelliniEspecial Reserve79.60 #7417.60 #97.20 #5751.00 #148.20 #59Did not advance148.2059Rafael Gouveia Jr.Sergio MarinsAndre ParoRaul SennaRemo TelliniSee aboveTeam205.801435.20243.40954.00301.0013colspan=3 301.0011