COB Expo: Neto and Zanetti highlight key role of sports infrastructure | OneFootball

At COB Expo 2025, the panel “Health, Overcoming, and Legacy: How Infrastructure Supports Sports” brought together major names from Brazilian Olympic sports for a discussion about the paths that turn dreams into achievements. The panel featured Olympic medalists Craque Neto, Arthur Zanetti, Érika Coimbra, Maurren Maggi, and Rafael Silva “Baby”, with journalist Álvaro José as moderator, who has covered 12 Olympic Games in person. Throughout the panel, participants highlighted the importance of infrastructure in sports, recalling how it has evolved over time in various areas, such as sports flooring.

“I think it would have been much easier if I had this structure in the past. I started in 1986, and if I had today’s infrastructure back then, I think I would have been an Olympic champion more times. But I know I’m privileged—I’ve only had one knee surgery, which is not much for a high-performance athlete,” began Maurren Maggi, the first Brazilian woman to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games, in Beijing 2008, in the long jump.

Next, Craque Neto emphasized the importance of valuing all sports. He won a silver medal in football at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

“The truth is that those of us in football have always had much more comfort, more money, and much better preparation than other Olympic sports. Today, if I had the opportunity to train with all the infrastructure available now, my professional life would certainly have been much stronger and I would have had far fewer surgeries, because I’ve had 13 in various parts of my body. All of this came from the lack of structure at the time,” said Neto.

🔗 Instagram

Judo was represented by Rafael Silva, known as “Baby”, one of the biggest names in the sport in Brazil. He reached the podium at three consecutive Olympics: bronze in London 2012, bronze in Rio 2016, and team bronze in Paris 2024.

“When I started, there were still some straw tatamis, which were terrible for anyone with rhinitis. Then things started to evolve until the arrival of synthetic mats, which brought a revolution. This brings more safety and, at the same time, there’s that floating cushioning technology, allowing you to throw your opponent more times during training and helping with development,” he said.

Former volleyball player Érika Coimbra also joined the panel. A reference in the outside hitter position, she won the bronze medal in Sydney 2000 and also competed at the Athens 2004 Games.

“I really experienced this transition in sports infrastructure, because I started in high-performance sports in 1997 and ended my career in 2019, so I can be proof that quality infrastructure makes a difference for an athlete’s longevity,” she said.

Finally, Arthur Zanetti also spoke about the evolution in sports. He was the first Brazilian to win gold in artistic gymnastics, in London 2012, and also took silver in Rio 2016.

“The mat when I started was basically a floor covered with a tarp, and that was very injurious for athletes. Over time, we acquired equipment and all the materials. Today, the infrastructure in gymnastics has improved a lot, with athletes able to have longer careers, like in my case, as I retired at 34. In the past, gymnasts would retire at 23 or 24 with several surgeries. So, I practically gained ten more years of competition thanks to this evolution,” he said.

COB Expo will be held from September 24 to 28, 2025, at the Pro Magno Event Center in São Paulo.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.