Besides the massive debt from the cost of hosting the Games?
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“We are behind in studying new ideas and trends in the fast-developing world of competitive sports along with their training and management”.
“These were marvelous Olympic Games in the ‘marvelous city,”‘ International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said, playing off the “cidade maravilhosa” nickname of Brazil’s postcard city of inviting coastlines, year-round sun and lush tropical vegetation.
Welcoming the spectators to the Maracana, a projection from the point of view of a bird flying over the host city of Rio de Janeiro was shown as the city’s landmark points – Christ the Reedemer, Sugarloaf – were seen and it reached the climax with the formation of five Olympic rings. Some felt Rio failed to present the five-star experience tourists and visitors had enjoyed at London 2012, but the Games proved the city could deliver a spectacle against the odds.
A total of 67 medals, with 27 golds, put Team GB second in the medal table – above China for the first time since the latter returned to the Games in 1984.
The fact is that the London Games really served as a springboard for the British athletes, who have made a remarkable comeback after hitting the nadir a decade and half before.
Great Britain’s Hollie Webb celebrates scoring the winning goal in the penalty shootout during the gold medal match Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.
The Prime Minister Theresa May has announced there will be a parade in Manchester and a further event in London in October.
The previous record for US medals at a fully attended Olympics was 110, set at Beijing eight years ago.
In 1984, South Korea won 19 medals with six golds, though that total was inflated because of the Soviet/Eastern Bloc boycott.
The Rio Games welcomed the debut of a refugees team.
By now, the Americans winning the medal race is nearly commonplace. Spain has averaged almost 16 medals in the six Olympics since, now solidly in the Olympics’ upper middle-class. This was his third gold medal for the third time – a flawless record.
“In a statement issued by his spokesperson today, Mr. Ban expressed deep appreciation ‘for the hospitality, diversity and capabilities of the Brazilian people and the world of sport, displayed at the first-ever Olympic Games in Latin America”. Plus, the women won 27 gold, which is more than any other country’s female athletes.
To be sure, Communist China has been a sporting power since joining the Olympics for the first time in L.A.in 1984.
Their 51-medal margin over second-place China is the largest in a non-boycotted Olympics in almost a century.
Team GB’s Olympic stars can expect a warm welcome when they land at Heathrow on Tuesday morning before facing the media.
And 10 teams – including the independent team – won their first golds, including Monica Puig in women’s tennis for Puerto Rico.
Great Britain’s Bryony Page has won a silver medal in the women’s trampoline.
So where will Brazil go from here?
Andy Murray and comeback king Juan Martín del Potro slugged it out in a match full of drama, skill and nerves before the Wimbledon champion secured his second gold medal and a place in the history books.
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We won’t know how Brazilian athletes will respond until at least four years later in Tokyo, and beyond.
