With glasses of caipirinhas and orange drinks circulating around the hall and live Brazilian popular music, the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee) inaugurated Casa Brasil in Milan on Thursday night (5), which will bring together athletes and sponsors during the Winter Olympic Games.
One of the main personalities was the gymnast Rebeca de Andrade, one of the eight figures chosen by the Games organizers to carry the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony, this Friday (6), starting at 4pm (Brasília time). The most sought after for photographs was former striker Adriano “Imperatore”, as he is known in Italy, for his seasons at Inter Milan.
The Minister of Sports, André Fufuca, who will represent the Brazilian government at the opening ceremony, at the San Siro stadium, also attended the opening cocktail. “Brazil arrives with big names who compete on equal terms with any athlete in the world. We are a tropical country and we know how difficult it is for athletes to compete in winter sports”, he told Sheet.
According to the minister, 9 of the 14 athletes who make up the delegation – the largest in Brazil’s history, which has been competing since 1992 – receive or have already received the Bolsa Atleta, a program created in 2005 by the ministry. Fufuca is expected to meet the Italian Minister of Sports, Andrea Abodi, before the ceremony and return to Brasília on Saturday (7).
Casa Brasil is the first initiative of its kind for a winter edition of the Olympic Games, which helps illustrate COB’s high expectations for the coming weeks.
“Today we have four possibilities for medals”, stated Marco La Porta, president of the COB just over a year ago – whom the minister called “Ricardo La Porta” in his speech. In order of podium chances, La Porta listed Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (alpine skiing), Nicole Silveira (skeleton), Pat Burgener (snowboard) and the bobsled team, with Edson Bindilatti.
“There has never been so much talk about Winter Olympic sports. We are at a very good time, where companies are believing in Olympic sports,” said La Porta. “We needed to give visibility to our sponsors and bring in new players to help the athletes, raising more resources for their preparation.”
The COB space occupies the Casa Degli Artisti, built in 1909 to be a center for artistic studios. It is located in a prime address in Milan, in the neighborhood of Brera, 20 minutes from the Duomo, the city’s most famous cathedral. The public can visit the house for free by booking online.
La Porta recognizes the “Lucas Pinheiro effect” in what it considers to be an increase in Brazilian interest in winter sports. Born in Norway to a Brazilian mother, the athlete competed for the Nordic country before representing Brazil, since 2024. Connected to fashion and with a presence on social media, Lucas, 25, is Brazil’s biggest chance of a podium finish. He, who competes in the slalom and giant slalom categories, has already won 20 medals in World Cup stages in alpine skiing.
“Lucas has a huge percentage in this. But it is a work that is evolving, with results and number of athletes in the last Games”, said the president of the committee. “Brazil is no longer an outsider in the nest.”
