Brazil sets Paralympic medal record, takes 5th place overall in Paris

São Paulo, Brazil – Brazil had its best performance ever during the Paralympic Games, ending its run in Paris with 89 medals: 25 gold, 26 silver, and 38 bronze. Its record-breaking performance placed the country in the top five of the medal board for the first time, finishing behind China, Great Britain, the United States, and the Netherlands.

Brazil bested its previous top performance at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020, where it won 22 gold medals and placed on 72 podiums, ending in 7th place. At the London Games in 2012, the Brazilian team also finished 7th on the medal board, but with 21 golds and 47 total medals.

Finishing in the top five of the medal board at the 2024 Paralympic Games was among the goals of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB), which brought the largest delegation in the country’s history to Paris with 280 athletes. Swimming and track and field were the sports in which the Brazilians stood out the most, with 26 and 36 medals, respectively.

The big surprise came in judo, where Brazil led in medals, taking eight podiums in total, surpassing other Paralympic powerhouses. The country also achieved good results in table tennis, taekwondo, powerlifting, canoeing, goalball, and blind soccer.

For the president of CPB, Mizael Conrado, the great results in Paris are a consequence of a strategic plan developed in 2017 and a shift in the institution’s direction.

“This plan brings inclusion to the center of our purpose. Inclusion becomes our mission. We changed the logic of sports development. We started going to the people, creating more projects for the development of Paralympic athletes,” he said.

According to Conrado, with the results from these development projects, future outcomes will be even better. Another goal of the CPB was to increase and expand female participation in major events. In Paris, 45% of the Brazilian team consisted of women, who were responsible for the majority of the gold medals (13 out of 25).

“If we look at China [the country that led the medal board in Paris], more than 60% of the podium finishes were achieved by women. I believe that by following this logic of creating opportunities and conditions, women will increasingly take the lead and will very likely surpass the results of men,” said Conrado.

Historical milestones

In addition to its medal record and breaking the top five for the first time, Brazil also achieved other historical milestones at the Paris Games. 

On the penultimate day of competition, the country had its most victorious day ever at a Paralympics: 16 medals were won on September 7, including six gold, three silver, and seven bronze.

The Brazilians also set six world records, five in track and field and one in swimming, along with eight Paralympic records, three in track and field, one in canoeing, two in powerlifting, and two in swimming. The country also won its first-ever medals in three sports: badminton, shooting, and triathlon.

Swimmer Carol Santiago won three gold medals in Paris, becoming the woman with the most golds in Brazil’s history. She now has six golds and 10 podium finishes overall. 

However, the standout athlete was swimmer Gabriel Araújo, known as Gabrielzinho, who won three gold medals in all three events he competed in Paris.

Gabrielzinho has a congenital condition that prevents the normal formation of arms and legs, and he discovered swimming through a physical education teacher at his school. Talented, charismatic, and humorous, he charmed the French people and was voted the star of the Paralympic Games by France 2, the country’s largest broadcaster.

During the closing ceremony, the president of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, Tony Estanguet, also mentioned Gabrielzinho among the “magnificent things” that happened during the Games.