Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff reaffirmed on Monday that the government will take steps to increase the number of medals won by Brazilian athletes in the next Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games, which will take place in 2016 in Rio.

Rousseff said that the government will invest more in sports infrastructure, so that athletes can have better facilities where they can work on improving their results. The government's so-called Brazil Medals plan foresees one billion reais (495 million USdollars) in investments over the next few years.

"Our goal is to ensure the best training conditions for our athletes, so that they can fully dedicate themselves to sports," President Rousseff said in her weekly radio show, aired earlier in the day.

She also praised Brazilian athletes' dedication, perseverance, and discipline in the Games.

In addition to better sports facilities, the President said, the government will also provide more support teams to athletes' coaches, nutritionists, psychologists, physical therapists, and physicians.

The allowance program established in the previous administrations, which consists on a monthly payment so that athletes can worry less about expenses, will be expanded, and a higher allowance will be paid to athletes who are among the top 20 of their fields.

In the latest Olympics, in London, Brazilian athletes won 17 medals, three of them gold, and ranked 22nd among the countries and regions of the world. It was only a slight improvement from 2008 in Beijing, when Brazilians won 15 medals.

The results in the Paralympic Games were better: Brazilian athletes won 43 medals, of which 21 were golds, and ranked seventh.

In 2016, Brazil wants to be among the top 10 countries in the Olympic Games and top five in the Paralympics.