Vinicius (Vini) Lanza is a competitive swimmer that represents Brazil internationally.
On July 21, 2016, Vini signed a National Letter of Intent to swim for the Indiana Hoosiers, beginning in the spring of 2016.
” The first thing that made me think about coming to the US was all the structure and opportunities that are offered for the athletes, because in Brazil we don’t have these things,” he said.
“But the most decisive thing was the opportunity to go to a nice college at the same time to swim at a high level. When Indiana offered me that chance I felt really proud and happy, and when I visited there I felt at home and that was really decisive to me.”
College Swimming
2016
Lanza arrived on Indiana’s campus in the spring of 2016 and made an immediate impact. At the 2016 NCAA Championships, Lanza earned 4 All-American honors, including 11th in the 100 fly (45.98), 10th in the 200 fly (1:41.80), 7th in the 400 medley relay (3:05.57), and 11th in the 200 medley relay (1:24.36).
2016-2017
Lanza continued his improvement during his sophomore campaign, earning the same 4 NCAA All-American honorable mentions as his freshman year and adding a 14th place finish in the 200 IM. At the B1G Championships, Lanza garnered the title of Swimmer of the Meet, placing 1st in the 200 IM (1:41.59) and 200 fly (1:40.97), as well as a 2nd place in the 100 fly (45.07).
2017-2018
In his junior year, Lanza continued his ascent into the Hoosier rankings. Lanza was an integral part of the Hoosiers’ NCAA champion 400 medley relay, in which he split 44.53. He also swam on the 2nd place 800 free relay (6:06.01) and the 4th place 200 medley relay (1:22.87). Individually, Lanza earned 3 All-American honors as he swam in his first 3 NCAA A finals, placing 3rd in the 100 fly (44.50) and 200 fly (1:39.75) as well as 6th in the 200 IM (1:40.82).
Lanza repeated as swimmer of the meet at the B1G championships, winning all 3 of his individual events (100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM) in school records.
2018-2019
Lanza successfully 3-peated as B1G swimmer of the meet at the 2019 B1G championships, touching first in the 200 fly (1:39.28) and 200 IM (1:41.05) as well as 2nd in the 100 fly (44.90).
At the NCAA Championships, Lanza won his first individual title, touching 1st in the 100 fly at 44.37. He also placed 2nd in the 200 fly (1:39.63) and 4th in the 200 IM (1:40.30). Lanza helped IU defend it’s title in the 400 medley relay as well, splitting 44.21 on the fly leg.
National/International Competitions
2018 Pan Pacific Championships (Tokyo, Japan)
In Tokyo, Lanza won his first major international medal, touching for bronze in 51.44.
2019 Pan American Games (Lima, Peru)
In Lima, Lanza won a medal of every color, including his first major international gold. He helped Brazil to gold in the mixed 4×100 medley relay (fly, 52.84 in prelims) as well as silver in the 4×100 medley relay (fly, 51.13), and touched for bronze individually in the 100 fly (51.88).
