2021 Brazilian Trials – Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2021 BRAZILIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS

• Monday, April 19th – Saturday, April 24th
• Prelims at 9:30 am local; Finals at 6:30 pm local
• Long Course Meters (50 meters), prelims/finals
• Brazilian Olympic Selection Policy
• Meet Site
• Heat Sheets
• Prelims Schedule
• Finals Schedule
• Live Results
• Day 1 Recap

It’s the second night of racing in Barra da Tijuca at the Brazilian Olympic Trials as competitors vie for Olympic roster spots. To earn those spots, swimmers must place in the top 2 during finals and beat the Fina A cut.

We already saw one Brazilian National Record fall this morning in the women’s 100 breaststroke where Jhennifer Conceicao demolished her previous record, set in 2019, by .29. Will she lower it twice, on the same day?

Another exciting race will be the men’s 100 backstroke where National Record holder and 2016 Olympian Guilherme Guido will dual four-time Big Ten champion Gabriel Fantoni.

Women’s 100 Backstroke – Final

• Olympic Qualifying Standard: 1:00.25
• Brazilian National Record: 59.61 – Etiene Medeiros (2015)

Top 3

1. Etiene Medeiros – 1:01.37
2. Fernanda Goeij – 1:02.30
3. Natalia de Luccas – 1:02.74

National Record-holder Medeiros came into the wall well under her prelims time of 1:02.45, but it was still not enough to crack the Olympic qualifying standard. She dominated the race, finishing nearly a full second ahead of the four-woman field after being the only swimmer under the 30-second mark at the halfway point.

Goeij and de Luccas also improved upon their prelims times by about a second each, but both Goeij and de Lucass have broken 1:02.00 before, in 2019 and 2014, respectively. The two remained one-third of a second apart from the turn at the 50-meter mark to the finish, pushing each other right to the end.

Men’s 200 Freestyle – Final

• Olympic Qualifying Standard: 1:47.02
• Brazilian National Record: 1:45.51 – Fernando Scheffer (2018)

Top 3

1. Fernando Scheffer – 1:46.28
2. Breno Correia – 1:46.72
3. Murilo Sartori – 1:47.33

2019 Pan American medalists Scheffer and Correia both cracked the Olympic qualifying standard and will be joining Brazil’s Olympic roster tonight. Their results tonight mirror their 1-2 finish in this event at the 2019 Pan American Games. This was a lifetime best for Correia by about half-a-second, crushing his previous best from the 2019 World Championships. Scheffer’s best time still stands at 1:45.83 from 2019.

Something clicked for 18-year-old Murilo Sartori on that last 50 as he devoured Scheffer and Correia’s leads with a 26.85 split compared to their respective 27.18 and 27.36. He was a full second behind Correia at the 100-meter mark but that phenomenal last lap brought it down to .61. This was a lifetime best for Sartori by .70.

Women’s 100 Breaststroke – Final

• Olympic Qualifying Standard: 1:07.07
• Brazilian National Record: 1:07.35 – Jhennifer Conceicao (2021)

Top 3

1. Jhennifer Conceicao  – 1:08.08
2. Pamela de Souza – 1:09.19
3. Bruna Leme – 1:09.74

Conceicao wasn’t able to top her record-setting prelims swim tonight, but she did win the race handily with a full second lead. De Souza really pushed her though, by taking charge at the 50 with a split of 36.58 compared to her 36.64. For context, Conceicao went out in 31.44 this morning.

De Souza lept from her 6th place finish this morning all the way to 2nd place, taking nearly 2 seconds off her prelims time from this morning. 19-year-old Leme fought valiantly to defend her 2nd seed spot going into the finals, but de Souza’s lead, ultimately, was insurmountable. This was a great swim for Leme whose previous personal best was set at 1:12.26 in 2019. This morning was her first time under 1:10.00, and she bested that time tonight by .22.

Men’s 100 Backstroke – Final

• Olympic Qualifying Standard: 53.85
• Brazilian National Record: 52.95 – Guilherme Guido (2015)

Top 3

1. Guilherme dias Masse – 53.84
2. Guilherme Guido – 53.85
3. Gabriel Fantoni – 54.28

It looked like Guido’s race to lose at the halfway point as he lead the race by .33. But Dias Masse barreled down the pool on the last 50 meters, catching the National Record-holder and making it a photo-finish.

While dias Masse squeaked under the Olympic qualifying cut by .01, the same margin he won by, Guido tied the qualifying time and will also be joining Brazil’s Olympic roster tonight. Fantoni kept up with them throughout the race, flipping in 2nd place at the 50-meter mark. This was a solid swim for him, but still off his lifetime best of 53.72 from the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.

Women’s 400 Freestyle – Final

• Olympic Qualifying Standard: 4:07.90
• Brazilian National Record: 4:09.41 – Joanna Maranhao (2017)

Top 3

1. Gabrielle Gonçalves – 4:10.88
2. Aline Rodrigues – 4:14.17
3. Ana de Jesus Da – 4:15.34

Gonçalves defended her top seed spot by dropping 5 seconds from her prelims time, a defense that was hard to compete with. Rodrigues was right on her heels after the first 100 meters but Goncalves had a 1-second lead at the halfway point that just kept growing. No one was able to crack the Olympic qualifying standard here.

Rodrigues, who came into the meet with the fastest seed time, also greatly improved upon her prelims time of 4:17.84 which earned her 5th this morning. De Jesus Da claimed 3rd place, closing in on Rodrigues a bit by splitting a 31.80 on the last 50 meters compared to Rodrigues’s 32.66.