Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday that Brazilian athletes, bringing home three gold, four silver and eight bronze medals, did quite well in the Beijing Olympic Games.
In his weekly radio program "Breakfast with the President", Lula stressed that Brazil made unprecedented achievements in some sports in Beijing.
He commended Maurren Maggi, who won the gold medal in women's long jump; Brazil's women volleyball team, which won their first Olympic gold medal; and swimmer Cesar Cielo, who brought to Brazil the very first gold medal in swimming with his outstanding performance in men's 50 meters freestyle.
During the two weeks, however, there were also frustrations for Brazilians, among which the biggest was the defeat of the men's football team in the semifinal match with Argentina, said Lula.
He also said he was deeply sorry for the defeat of the Brazilian women's football team to the United States in the final match. But he still considered the girls to be heroines.
Lula called for more investment in sports in order to help improve Brazilian athletes' performance in future games.
At the same time, the Brazilian president said that he was confident in Rio de Janeiro's bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games.
(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2008)