The Sports Minister, Aldo Rebelo, is optimistic about the total number of medals that Brazil might win in the Olympic Games in London. For him, it is possible that the Brazilian athletes conquer a total of 20 medals, among gold, silver and bronze. The estimate made by the COB is that Brazil will only take 15 medals home.

The minister's optimism also extends to the total number of tourists who will come to watch the Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. According to Rebelo, the international financial crisis will not diminish the interest of foreigners wishing to visit Brazil during the Games. "The estimate [of visitors] remains between 500,000 and 600,000 tourists, said the minister moments before leaving to London.

Rebelo believes that investments by the federal government in high-performance athletes will result in the best Olympic campaign ever done by Brazil. To the minister, the modalities with the greatest chance of winning medals are judo, swimming and beach volleyball. "In soccer, I think we have a great chance to reap a gold medal for the first time in 60 years of Olympic Games. In addition, our women's soccer team always brings medals back," he says.

For the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the minister's optimism is even greater. "In Rio, we are able to [achieve] much more than that, because a very detailed plan is being made, modality by modality, built with [the support]of COB and the [sports] confederations, so that Brazil has a performance compatible with its position of host country". Aldo Rebelo said that during the 2016 Olympics, Brazil will have the help of the organizers of the London Olympic Games to prevent any problems.

26 July 2012