The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Brazil

This page contains a list of the greatest Brazilian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 189 of which were born in Brazil. This makes Brazil the birth place of the 17th most number of Athletes behind Japan, and Ukraine.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Brazilian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Brazilian Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Brazilian Athletes.

1. Marta (b. )

With an HPI of 63.71, Marta is the most famous Brazilian Athlete. Their biography has been translated into 28 different languages on wikipedia.

Marta may refer to:

2. Adhemar da Silva (1927 - 2001)

With an HPI of 58.83, Adhemar da Silva is the 2nd most famous Brazilian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Adhemar Ferreira da Silva (September 29, 1927 – January 12, 2001) was a Brazilian triple jumper. He won two Olympic gold medals and set four world records, the last being 16.56 metres in 1955 Pan American Games. In his early career he also competed in the long jump, placing fourth at the 1951 Pan American Games. He broke world records in triple jump on five occasions during his illustrious career. To date, he remains the only track and field athlete from South America to have won two Olympic gold medals. He remained the sole Olympic gold medalist for Brazil until the 1980 Summer Olympics. He is regarded as one of the finest South American athletes in history, and for decades was the only Brazilian athlete to have won gold in two consecutive Olympics (a record that stood until 2012). He was the first Brazilian individual athlete to have set a world record in any sporting event. He became an extraordinary exceptional triple jumper despite not excelling in his speed and long jumping abilities. Silva was a polyglot, having learned English, Finnish, French, Japanese, Italian, German, and Spanish in addition to Portuguese. He had close association with Czech veteran long-distance runner Emil Zátopek for over 50 years. Silva was a member of the São Paulo Futebol Clube, and because of him, the team coat has two gold stars above its emblem. He also had a short stint for Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama from 1955 to 1959.

3. Nelson Prudêncio (1944 - 2012)

With an HPI of 54.76, Nelson Prudêncio is the 3rd most famous Brazilian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Nelson Prudêncio (April 4, 1944 – November 23, 2012) was a Brazilian athlete who competed in the triple jump. He won silver medals at the 1967 and 1971 Pan American Games and 1968 Summer Olympics, and a bronze at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Prudêncio was ranked world's #2 in 1968, #3 in 1972, #5 in 1975, and #8 in 1971. Prudêncio's jump of 17.27 metres (56 feet 8 inches) at the 1968 Olympics was the world record before Viktor Saneyev extended it to 17.39 metres (57 feet 1 inch) a few minutes later. Prudêncio was Professor of Physical Education at the Federal University of São Carlos and vice-president of Confederação Brasileira de Atletismo (Brazilian Athletics Confederation). He died of lung cancer on November 23, 2012, in São Carlos. He was 68 years old.

4. Vanderlei de Lima (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 53.56, Vanderlei de Lima is the 4th most famous Brazilian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima (born 4 July 1969) is a Brazilian retired long-distance runner. He was born in Cruzeiro do Oeste, Paraná. While leading the marathon after 35 km (22 mi) at the 2004 Summer Olympics, he was attacked on the course by Irish former priest Cornelius "Neil" Horan. Following the incident, Lima fell from first to third place, eventually winning the bronze medal. He was later awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal for his sportsmanship shown in that race. Lima won the Tokyo International Marathon in 1996 and the Hamburg Marathon in 2004. He won the South American Cross Country Championships in 1995, and the marathon at the Pan American Games consecutively in 1999 and 2003. He lit the Olympic cauldron and carried the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

5. Roberta (b. )

With an HPI of 52.71, Roberta is the 5th most famous Brazilian Athlete. Their biography has been translated into 10 different languages.

Roberta is a feminine version of the given names Robert and Roberto. It is a Germanic name derived from the stems *hrod meaning "famous", "glorious", "godlike" and *berht meaning "bright", "shining", "light".

6. Macris (b. )

With an HPI of 52.11, Macris is the 6th most famous Brazilian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

In Greek mythology, Macris (Ancient Greek: Μακρἰς meaning "far away" or "long", a reference to the elongated shape of Euboea) was a daughter of Aristaeus and Autonoe.

7. João Carlos de Oliveira (1954 - 1999)

With an HPI of 51.67, João Carlos de Oliveira is the 7th most famous Brazilian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

João Carlos de Oliveira, also known as "João do Pulo" (May 28, 1954 – May 29, 1999) was a Brazilian athlete who competed in the triple jump and the long jump. Born in Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo De Oliveira won two Olympic bronze medals. His personal best of 17.89 metres, set on October 15, 1975, in Pan American Games, stood as the world record until 1985. As of today, it is still in the top twenty of all-time best results in the event.

8. Joaquim Cruz (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 51.34, Joaquim Cruz is the 8th most famous Brazilian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Joaquim Carvalho Cruz (born 12 March 1963) is a Brazilian former middle-distance runner, winner of the 800 meters at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He is one of only ten men, and in August 1984 became the second man, to run the 800 metres in less than 1 minute 42 seconds.

9. Torben Grael (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 48.71, Torben Grael is the 9th most famous Brazilian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Torben Schmidt Grael (born 22 July 1960) is one of the most well known Brazilian sailors, renowned in international competitions. A descendant of Danes, he was taken sailing by his grandfather at the age of five years on the sailboat Aileen, of the 6 Metre class, which was the boat used by the silver medal-winning 1912 Summer Olympics Danish sailing team. Once he moved to Niterói, he started sailing with his brother, Lars Grael, also an Olympic medal winner, on the Bay of Guanabara. Another brother, Axel Grael, is the current mayor of Niterói. He is father of Olympic champion Martine Grael and sailor Marco Grael.

10. Michael Woods (b. )

With an HPI of 48.58, Michael Woods is the 10th most famous Brazilian Athlete. Their biography has been translated into 11 different languages.

Michael Woods may refer to: Michael Woods (Australian politician) (1857–1934), member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Michael Woods (comics), American writer/editor of comic books Michael Woods (cyclist) (born 1986), Canadian cyclist Michael Woods (DJ), UK electronic music producer Michael Woods (footballer) (born 1990), footballer for Hartlepool United Michael Woods (Irish politician) (born 1935), Irish Fianna Fáil politician Michael Woods (organist) (fl. 1565–1569), English organist Michael Woods (The Only Way Is Essex) Mike Woods (American football) (1954–2009), American football player Mike Woods (Australian footballer) (born 1926), footballer for Melbourne Mike Woods (speed skater) (born 1952), American Olympic speed skater Michael Woods II (born 2000), American football wide receiver

People

Pantheon has 189 people classified as Brazilian athletes born between 1927 and 2008. Of these 189, 186 (98.41%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Brazilian athletes include Marta, Vanderlei de Lima, and Roberta. The most famous deceased Brazilian athletes include Adhemar da Silva, Nelson Prudêncio, and João Carlos de Oliveira. As of April 2024, 168 new Brazilian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Marta, Roberta, and Macris.