“It seems like we’ve entered an exclusive group. Before, we were just the people with rare pins, now we have a gold medal after 102 years of Winter Olympics”, said Emilio Strapasson, responsible for the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee) for sports and operational leadership at the Milan and Cortina Games, which ended this Sunday (22).
The speech, which makes reference to the pin collecting that becomes a craze with each edition, summarizes the change in level of Brazilian sport on snow and ice. Brazil leaves the Olympics with its first medal, unprecedented until then in all of Latin America. “It’s a watershed moment,” said Strapasson in Milan, when analyzing Brazilian participation.
The strategy of mapping and attracting athletes from outside the country who were already practicing winter sports yielded results. Brazil, which has competed since the 1992 Games, finished 19th in the medal table. Norway, the United States and the Netherlands were the three most awarded.
In addition to Norwegian-Brazilian Lucas Pinheiro Braathen’s gold in alpine skiing, other milestones were reached in northern Italy. The largest Brazilian delegation in a winter edition also had the largest number of athletes among the top 20.
In skeleton, Nicole Silveira, who lives in Canada, came in 11th place, the best result in the country in ice sports. In halfpipe snowboarding, Pat Burgener, who grew up in Switzerland, and Augustinho Teixeira, another who lives in Canada, finished 14th and 19th, respectively. In bobsled, the sled led by Edson Bindilatti came in 19th, the best result for the country.
Leader of this new movement, Lucas became world news. In addition to his achievements on the Bormio track, he draws attention for his attitude, with samba moves, declarations of love for cheese bread, interest in fashion and beauty products.
Surrounded by major sponsors, he uses his own story to talk about diversity and multiplicity. “I had to live for many years before I understood that this difference between cultures brought me growth. I would never be the athlete I am if it weren’t for this somewhat complicated story,” Lucas told Sheet before gold.
The COB confirmed that he is already committed to Brazil for the next Olympic cycle, with the intention of competing in 2030, in the French Alps. Until then, the committee intends to continue keeping an eye on Brazilians abroad to reinforce the group.
It was a great Olympics also for Italy, which organized the competitions in seven cities, a decentralization that will be repeated by France. After initial apprehension due to delayed works, criticism from environmentalists and protests from the Milanese, the Games took place without serious problems.
In Milan, the Santa Giulia arena, which just a few days before the start of the Games had sectors being finalized, hosted the main hockey matches and will now be used as another place for events and shows. In Cortina, where a track for bobsled, skeleton and luge was built, at a cost of €118 million (R$723 million), the organizers promise that it will not be a cathedral in the desert and want to attract athletes from other countries for training.
More noble from a sustainability point of view are the other addresses of ice sports in Milan. Pavilions of the city’s main convention center, which already has good transport infrastructure, have been converted into skating and hockey rinks.
The city, which experienced the Games with moderate enthusiasm, perhaps because it is already accustomed to major international events, such as fashion and design weeks, celebrates as a legacy the accessibility with elevators in 97% of the 134 metro stations, an essential point for the Paralympics, between March 6th and 15th, and for many residents.
Italy also did well in the results, with its best performance in history, finishing in fourth place, with 30 medals, 10 of which were gold, surpassing its performance in 1994.
It was the athletes who provided the greatest emotions, such as skier Federica Brignone, two gold medals after ten months of a serious injury. Also noteworthy are skaters Francesca Lollobrigida (two golds) and Arianna Fontana (one gold and two silvers), who became the country’s biggest medalist, with 14 podiums, counting the men’s and the summer editions.
In the first Olympics with a woman at the head of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) —Kirsty Coventry, former swimmer from Zimbabwe—, Milan-Cortina ends up as the edition with the best gender balance. The competitions had 47% of female athletes, 50% of the female organizers, and 51% of the 18 thousand volunteers were women.
In addition to mind-boggling images and broken records, tears and controversies also make history. The disqualification of Ukrainian Vladislav Heraskevich, prevented from competing in skeleton with his helmet made of images of compatriot athletes who died in the war against Russia, has put the rules on political demonstrations at the Games into debate.
The controversy surrounding the conflict is likely to continue at the Paralympics. After a decision that allowed Russians and Belarusians to compete with their national flags, unlike what happened in recent weeks, when athletes were under a neutral flag, Ukrainians promise to boycott the opening ceremony, on March 6, in Verona.
