Ferreira won gold in the Star class in 1996 and repeated the success in 2004. 

He also has a bronze from Sydney 2000, all achieved alongside Torben Grael who is already a member of the Hall of Fame.

"It is always a special moment for the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) to be able to honour some of the icons of Brazilian sport," COB President Paulo Wanderley said. 

"These are people who inspired generations of athletes, who marked the history of the sport in the country, so being able to remember them and pay tribute, recognising this effort, this determination, is a joy."

The nominees span the years from 1948 to 2012 and include a posthumous award to sprinter Melania Luz, one of the first women to compete in athletics for Brazil at the Olympics and the first black woman to be part of a Brazilian delegation.

Luz raced at 200 metres and in the 4x100m relay in 1948.

Luz twice won 4x100m relay gold at the South American Championships, but died only a few weeks before the Rio 2016 Olympics so the award will be received by members of her family.

"What we have today owes a lot to the athletes of the past, to their achievements, they were true trailblazers," COB director Rogério Sampaio said.

"Some of these stars who are now entering the COB Hall of Fame didn’t have the slightest structure to train, the least incentive.

"They are people who have dedicated themselves fully to the sport and we are always grateful to them."

The oldest medallist to be honoured is Manuel dos Santos who won 100m freestyle bronze at the Rome 1960 Olympics behind Australia’s John Devitt and American Lance Larson, who touched almost instantaneously at the finish in a famous race.

Another swimmer, Ricardo Prado, silver medallist in the 400m individual medley, is one of three members of the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic team to be honoured.

Renan Dal Zotto, who played in all six matches for the men’s volleyball team which won silver in 1984, has also been made a member of the Hall of Fame.

A three-time Olympian as a player, he went on to coach the national men’s team.

The Los Angeles trio is completed by Walter Carmona.

He won middleweight judo bronze in 1984 as the highlight of a career which spanned three Olympics.

Carmona also won a World Championship bronze medal in 1979 in Paris.

Yane Marques, modern pentathlon bronze medallist at London 2012, is the most recent Olympian to be honoured.

Marques, carried the Brazilian flag at the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony and is current President of the COB Athletes' Commission.

They join 28 other distinguished Brazilians who have been honoured since the Hall of Fame was established in 2018.

The roll of honour includes includes swimmer Maria Lenk, Brazil’s first female Olympian, double Olympic triple jump gold medallist Adhemar Ferreira da Silva, 800m champion Joaquim Cruz and beach volleyball gold medallists Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva.

The 2022 inductees will also be asked to make "Hollywood-style" hand and footprints which are to be displayed in a future exhibition at the COB training centre.