The gala night of Brazilian sport had Caio Bonfim and Maria Clara Pacheco as protagonists. They were elected, this Thursday (11), the best male and female athletes of the year, respectively, at the Prêmio Brasil Olímpico. The 2025 edition of the event was held at Cidade das Artes, located in Barra da Tijuca, west zone of Rio de Janeiro.
Winner of the award in 2024, Caio was once again honored at the ceremony thanks to his gold medal in the 20-kilometer (km) race walk at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. He also won silver in the 35 km. The race walker’s mother, Gianetti Bonfim, was also honored at the event, chosen as the best coach of the year.
Related news:
- The Brazilian Paralympic Award honors swimming stars.
- Caio Bonfim is the world champion in the 20km race walk in Tokyo.
- Maria Clara Pacheco is a world taekwondo champion in China.
Maria Clara, in turn, became world taekwondo champion in Wuxi (China) in the under 57 kilograms (kg) category, repeating the feat of Natália Falavigna after 20 years. She also finished the season as number one in her category in the ranking.
This year’s event also crowned, for the first time, two winners of the Fan’s Choice Athlete award – one male, one female. The online vote, conducted through the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) website, elected tennis player João Fonseca and volleyball player Gabi Guimarães, respectively.
The 2025 edition saw the creation of new awards: Best Club, Highlights of the Youth Games (male, female and delegations) and of the Junior Pan American Games, and the Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima Medal. This last award, created to recognize Olympic spirit and values, was given to the rowing team that, even with one of their oars broken, won the bronze medal in the Junior Pan American Games in the Coxless Four (four athletes in a boat competing without a coxswain). The quartet consisted of Andrei Alves, Diogo Gonçalves, Kayki Siqueira, and Miguel Marques.
One of the ceremony’s most traditional awards, the Adhemar Ferreira da Silva Trophy, was given to sailor Robert Scheidt, winner of five Olympic medals, including two gold. The honor pays homage to idols of Brazilian sport. The 2025 Breakthrough Athlete trophy went to Rebeca Lima, who was the world boxing champion in the under-60 kg category.
Winners of the Brazilian Olympic Award in 2025
Female Athlete of the Year: Maria Clara Pacheco, taekwondo
Male Athlete of the Year: Caio Bonfim, athletics
Team of the Year: Rhythmic Gymnastics – Group (Nicole Pircio, Paula Caminha, Duda Arakaki, Sofia Madeira and Mariana Gonçalves)
Best Coach: Gianetti Bonfim, athletics
Best Coach: Diego Guimarães Ribeiro, taekwondo
Adhemar Ferreira da Silva Trophy: Robert Scheidt, sailing
Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima Medal: Junior Pan American Games Four Rowers (Andrei Alves, Diogo Gonçalves, Kayki Siqueira and Miguel Marques)
Fan’s Choice Athlete – Female: Gabi Guimarães, volleyball
Fan’s Choice Athlete – Male: João Fonseca, tennis
Breakthrough Athlete: Rebeca Lima, boxing
Junior Pan American Games Highlight: Stefanie Balduccini, swimming
Youth Games Highlight – Female: Clarisse Rocha Valim, from judo.
Youth Games Highlight – Male: Davi Souza de Lima, from athletics.
Youth Games Highlight – Delegation: São Paulo (1st), Rio de Janeiro (2nd) and Paraná (3rd).
Best Club: Esporte Clube Pinheiros.
Open Water Swimming: Ana Marcela Cunha.
Athletics: Caio Bonfim.
Badminton: Juliana Viana.
3×3 Basketball: Gabriela Guimarães .
Basketball: Yago Mateus.
Baseball: Victor Coutinho.
Boxing: Rebeca Lima.
Canoe Slalom: Ana Sátila.
Canoe Sprint: Jacky Godmann and Gabriel Assunção .
BMX Freestyle Cycling: Gustavo Bala Loka.
BMX Racing Cycling: Paola Reis.
Road Cycling: Tota Magalhães.
Mountain Bike Cycling: Ulan Galinski.
Track Cycling: João Vitor da Silva.
Cricket: Laura Cardoso.
Snow Sports: Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (alpine skiing).
Sports in Ice: Nicole Silveira (skeleton)
Climbing: Anja Köhler
Fencing: Isabela Carvalho
Flag Football: Karol Souza
Football: Marta
Artistic Gymnastics: Flávia Saraiva
Trampoline Gymnastics: Camilla Gomes
Rhythmic Gymnastics: Nicole Pircio, Paula Caminha, Duda Arakaki, Sofia Madeira and Mariana Gonçalves
Golf: Fred Biondi
Handball: Bruna de Paula
Equestrian – Dressage:João Victor Oliva
Equestrianism – Eventing: Marcio Jorge
Equestrianism – Jumping: Stephan Barcha
Field Hockey: Yuri Van Der Heijden
Judo: Daniel Cargnin
Lacrosse: Titus Chapman
Weightlifting: Laura Amaro
Artistic Swimming: Gabriela Regly
Swimming: Guilherme Caribé
Modern Pentathlon: Jhon Xavier
Water Polo: João Fernandes
Rowing: Beatriz Tavares
Coastal Rowing: David Faria de Souza
Rugby: Thalia Costa
Diving: Anna Lúcia dos Santos and Luana Lira
Skateboarding: Rayssa Leal
Softball: Mayra Sayumi Akamine
Squash: Diego Gobbi
Surfing: Yago Dora
Taekwondo: Maria Clara Pacheco
Tennis: João Fonseca
Table Tennis: Hugo Calderano
Archery: Marcus D’Almeida
Shooting: Felipe Wu
Triathlon: Miguel Hidalgo
Sailing: Mateus Isaac
Beach Volleyball: Carol Solberg and Rebecca
Volleyball: Gabi Guimarães
Wrestling: Pedro Henrique Rodrigues
