de OLIVEIRA SAAD GATTAZ Caroline

General
INTERNATIONAL COMEBACK
She will be age 40 at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. She missed out on selection for the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, and returned to the Brazil national team ahead of the 2020 Games for the first time since 2013. "I never even imagined that I would be back in the national team again. I never thought that I would be playing at a high level, winning titles for a team that I love. It was unthinkable." (ge.globo.com, 16 Jun 2021; uol.com.br, 14 Jun 2021)

BEIJING DISAPPOINTMENT
She says not making the Brazilian team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing is among the lowest points of her sporting career. She ended up working as a television sports commentator during the 2008 Games, where Brazil won gold. "That maybe was the biggest trauma of my career. I pushed myself so hard in the four years of the Olympic cycle, and being cut was really painful. I was upset, as other athletes were when they got cut. In 2004 it was my first year in the national team, I did not feel ready [for the 2004 Olympic Games]. But in 2008 I felt prepared. I wanted to know why the coaching staff chose others over me, but you cannot question an Olympic gold medal. I always had gratitude towards coach Jose Roberto Guimaraes. I have long been part of his teams. I was upset, but I could not feel angry, because there was a lot of gratitude towards him. That feeling will never cease to exist." (uol.com.br, 14 Jun 2021)