Brazil at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Brazil at the 1920 Summer Olympics
IOC code	BRA
NOC	Brazilian Olympic Committee
Website	www.cob.org.br (in Portuguese)
in Antwerp
Competitors	19 in 5 sports
Flag bearer	Guilherme Paraense[1]
Medals Ranked 15th	Gold 1 Silver 1 Bronze 1 Total 3
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Brazil competed at the modern Olympic Games for the first time at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. 19 competitors, all men, took part in 10 events in 5 sports.^[2]

Brazil won its first ever Olympic medals in Antwerp. All the three medals came in Shooting events. The five shooters had great difficulty getting to the Antwerp. First, the shooters boarded the Curvello steamship with the rest of the Brazilian delegation, but they had to go down in Portugal when they learned that the ship would not arrive in time for the competition. Then they took a train from Lisbon to Paris, and much of the trip was in an open car, with the athletes being exposed to rain and sun. In Paris, they changed trains, heading for Belgium. But in Brussels, where they expected the connection to Antwerp, some of the weapons and ammunition had been stolen. The athletes had 200 caliber 8 bullets, although they needed at least 75 for each. They made friends with the American athletes Alfred Lane and Raymond Bracken, who gave the Brazilians 2,000 cartridges and 50 targets.

On August 2, Brazil had already started the men's 50 metre team free pistol, with Fernando Soledade. As his weapon was very bad, the head of the American shooting team, Colonel Snyders, lent the Brazilians two weapons manufactured by Colt especially for the competition. The shooters Sebastião Wolf, Dario Barbosa, Guilherme Paraense and Afrânio da Costa exchanged the weapons among themselves and won the bronze medal for men's 50 metre team free pistol. The individual event was simultaneous with the team event, so Afrânio da Costa also got the individual silver medal, in men's 50 metre free pistol, the first individual medal ever won by a Brazilian .^[3]

The next day, Guilherme Paraense, a Lieutenant of the Army, became the first ever gold medalist from Brazil, when he won the 30 metre military pistol event.

Medalists

Multiple medallists

The following competitors won several medals at the 1920 Olympic Games.

Name	Medal	Sport	Event
Guilherme Paraense	Gold  Bronze	Shooting	Men's 30 metre military pistol Men's 50 metre team free pistol
Afrânio da Costa	Silver  Bronze	Shooting	Men's 50 metre free pistol Men's 50 metre team free pistol

Diving

A single diver represented Brazil in the nation's Olympic debut in 1920. Wellisch competed in all three of the men's events, reaching the final in two but winning no medals.

Men

Ranks given are within the semifinal group.

Diver	Event	Semifinals			Final
		Points	Score	Rank	Points	Score	Rank
Adolfo Wellisch	3 m springboard	19	522.85	4	did not advance
	10 m platform	Skipped			29	423.80	7
	Plain high dive	14	162.3	3 Q	37	153.0	8

Rowing

Five rowers represented Brazil in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. Brazil sent one boat, in the coxed fours. It was unable to advance past the semifinals, taking second place to the United States in the three-boat heat. Ranks given are within the heat.

Men

Rower	Event	Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Guilherme Lorena João Jório Alcides Veira Abrahão Saliture Ernesto Flores Filho	Coxed four	N/A		7:25.4	2	did not advance

Shooting

Five shooters represented Brazil in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport as well as the Olympics. All three of Brazil's medals at the Antwerp Games came in shooting events, with one of each type.

Men

Shooter	Event	Final
		Result	Rank
Dario Barbosa	50 m free pistol	441	23
Afrânio da Costa		489
Guilherme Paraense	30 m military pistol	274
	50 m free pistol	456	13
Fernando Soledade	50 m free pistol	424	26
Sebastião Wolf		454	15
Demerval Peixoto Mário Maurity Guilherme Paraense Fernando Soledade Sebastião Wolf	30 m team military pistol	1261	4
Dario Barbosa Afrânio da Costa Guilherme Paraense Fernando Soledade Sebastião Wolf	50 m team free pistol	2264

Swimming

Two swimmers, both male, represented Brazil in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport as well as the Olympics. Neither swimmer advanced past the quarterfinals.

Men

Swimmer	Event	Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Orlando Amêndola	100 m freestyle	Unknown	6	did not advance
Ângelo Gammaro		1:22.0	3	did not advance

Water polo

Brazil competed in the Olympic water polo tournament for the first time in 1920. A modified version of the Bergvall System was in use at the time. Brazil won its first match, against France, before being defeated by Sweden in the quarterfinals.

Round of 16

Brazil

5–1

France

Antwerp

Quarterfinals

Sweden

7–3

Brazil

Antwerp

Roster

Final rank: 6th

References

External links

• Official Olympic Reports
• International Olympic Committee results database