The Brazilian delegation consisted of 659 athletes (373 men and 286 women) and 267 directors, making a total of 926 people in 41 sports.

Competing in their own country, the Brazilian athletes managed to far surpass their own record number of Gold, Silver and Bronze medals obtained in a single edition of the Pan-American Games.

[1] The Rio de Janeiro Mayor and Brazilian Olympic Group wanted to show that Brazil is capable to receive the 2014 World Cup, for which is the only candidate so far, and that the city is eligible to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Another mission of Brazil was to achieve the 2nd position among the top History Pan-American Winners.

The COB also used the competition to prepare itself for the 2008 Summer Olympics.