If day 1 is any indicator of how the last-chance Brazilian qualifying meet is going to go, don’t cross your fingers for any new names to be added to the roster. The meet is being held in the same Maria Lenk stadium that hosted the Maria Lenk Trophy meet two weeks ago (that was Brazil’s main qualifying meet) and will be available to fill out any unclaimed Olympic spots as well as to make the final decision on the men’s relays. FINA A-times will be required to earn an individual swim in London, and the men will have to improve upon Bruno Fratus’ 48.72 or Marcelo Chierighini’s 48.79 to earn a 400 free relay spot.
That 100 free will be the showcase event, but Chierighini himself won’t be at the meet, as he’s back in the states already. That means he won’t have the chance to fight off the likes of Joao de Lucca.
No new Olympic qualifiers came from the first day. De Lucca, one of the biggest hopes for this meet, added about half-a-second in the men’s 200 free to finish in 1:48.81. That means he will have only one last chance to make the team, even though he’s the countries fastest 200 freestyler this year.
That race was also the comeback from suspension of Vinicius Waked; out of the four men who faced positive tests at the 2011 Maria Lenk Trophy, Waked was the only one to receive a suspension as it was his second black mark. After a year out of competition, Waked came back with a decent 1:49.70 to place second to de Lucca in the race.
In the women’s 200 free, Jessica Cavalheiro similarly added to swim a 2:01.43.
22-year old Lucas Kanieski swam easily a best time in the men’s 1500 with a 15:16.64, but that wasn’t enough for an Olympic spot either. He did destroy the National Record holder Luiz Arapiraca, who was 2nd in 15:38.
Meet Results available here (on the right side of the screen, click “RELATÓRIOS,” then “Resultados”.
Psych Sheets available here.
So, if Brazil field the men 4×200 free, Waked, the cheat, (times two) will swim at the Olympics.
aswimfan – you’ll be delighted to know that Brazil has already declared they won’t swim an 800 free relay in London (they’d have to make a huge improvement to even be invited, since Pereira isn’t swimming it).