Brazil’s Anderson Nocetti powering
in the men’s single sculls at the 2008
Olympic Games in Beijing.
Ailson Silva is Brazil’s leading
rower. Silva, 22, made the
switch to lightweight rowing in 2009 and
finished with silver at the World Rowing
Under 23 Championships. He then went
on to make the lightweight single final at
the World Rowing Championships.
Three main pockets of rowing are centred around
Brazil’s large cities: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Porto
Alegre. Rowing clubs are connected to big football
clubs so the majority of rowers come through the
football avenue rather than through high schools or
universities where the culture of rowing has not been
developed.
At the 2008 Olympics, Brazil had a solid Olympic
showing, with a men’s and women’s single and a
lightweight men’s and women’s double competing.
The athletes included veteran of three Olympic Games,
Anderson Nocetti, in the men’s single.
Brazilian Rowing, which has never won an Olympic
medal, is currently investing its energy to be successful
in six years’ time at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de
Janeiro. Winning the right to host the Olympics has
been a real boost to the sport and Brazil has recruited
French coach José Oyarzabal to prepare.
Adaptive rowing is strong in the country with a
Paralympic bronze medal won by Elton Santana and
Josiane Lima in 2008. One year later they stepped up
to a World Championship silver medal.
