Olympics Gold Awarded in Rio

(ATR) The last medal ceremony from the Athens Olympics is certainly the first time one has been held in Brazil. Rodrigo Pessoa was crowned the new champion in show jumping at a picturesque ceremony overlooking Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro.

Pessoa, the original silver medalist in Athens stepped up to the gold when Ireland?s Cian O'Connor was disqualified for a doping infraction involving his horse, Waterford Crystal.

Now 32, Pessoa is one of the stars of the equestrian circuit, a three-time world champion, the youngest winner of the title ever in 1998.

On hand to present the medal was IOC President Jacques Rogge, who passed that honor over to Brazil Olympic Committee President Carlos Arthur Nuzman. Rogge presented the bouquet instead at the ceremony held at Fort Copacabana, a centuries-old promontory that once guarded Guanabera Bay,

Held in scorching midday sun, the cermeony may have been one of the most photogenic every held for an Olympic medal. The medal podium had the sea and islands of the bay in the background, with landmark Sugar Loaf looming to one side over Copacabana.

Starting late was a downside; the Olympics always start on time.

But Nuzman and his colleagues in Brazil may have cleverly come up with some powerful imagery to be used in a possible quest for the 2016 Olympics. And it may not have hurt to have powerful IOC members in the audience for what was an emotional moment for the Brazilians.

The IOC President tells Around the Rings he welcomes ?all good candidates for the Olympics,? as he responded to a question about a Rio de Janeiro candidacy. He?ll meet on Thursday in Brasilia with the president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is expected to raise the ongoing interest of Brazil in hosting the Summer Games. The two leaders have met before.

On the scene coverage from the Pan American Sports Organization meeting in Rio, throughout the week at www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only.