Brazil's Temer says Rio 2016 Olympics a success

Brasilia, Aug 24 (IANS) Brazil's interim President Michel Temer has called the Rio 2016 Olympic Games "an absolute success".

Temer on Tuesday thanked all those responsible for organising the event, saying the "workers, volunteers and residents of Rio had resolved each detail to receive the biggest sports competition in the world", Xinhua news agency reported.

"Brazil has seen an extraordinary achievement and this work is that of the Brazilian people," he said.

He praised the "exceptional" sports venues, where 27 world records and 92 Olympic records were broken, while Brazil won 19 gold medals, the best result in its history.

Temer spoke of some of the main victories by Brazilian athletes such as the first gold medal scored by the men's football team "on the sacred grass of the Maracana", and the third gold for the men' s volleyball team, setting "an example for various generations of Brazilians".

He vowed that the spirit of unity which sets an example for Brazil to work together would not be lost.

"We will maintain the important projects at the Ministry of Sports and maintain our sports policy to become an Olympic power in the future," he said.

According to Temer, foreign visitors were also impressed with 98.7 per cent reporting that the games had met their expectations and 87 per cent had stated they wanted to come back to Brazil.

Temer said Brazil would use the success of the Olympics to face its economic and political challenges.

--IANS

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