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3 To Go: Bruno Fratus Swims 97th Sub-22 LCM 50 Free of His Career

32-year-old Brazilian star sprinter Bruno Fratus is on his way to making history again this summer. Last summer, he became the oldest swimmer to win their first Olympic medal, taking Bronze in the 50 free at the Tokyo Olympics at the age of 31.

Also, while he was at the Olympics last summer, Fratus made history as the first swimmer to race the LCM 50 free in under 22 seconds 90 times. Yes, 90 times. When all was said and done last summer, Fratus had swum his 92nd 21-point LCM 50 free, with the last one being his Bronze medal performance of 21.57 in the Olympic Final.

Since the Olympic final swim, it seemed fairly likely that if Fratus kept competing this year, he would probably get to 100 sub-22s, becoming the first swimmer to do so. We published an article a few weeks ago following the first stop of the Mare Nostrum Tour in Monte Carlo, wherein Fratus swam 3 different 21-point 50 freestyles. That put his total up to 95 in his career.

Fratus did in fact go on to compete in the other 2 stops of the Mare Nostrum Tour, Barcelona and Canet, clocking another 21-point at both stops. First up was Barcelona, where Fratus won the men’s 50 free in 21.78, touching a bit off the 21.49 he swam in Monte Carlo. He would come in 2nd in the final at the Canet stop, swimming a 21.99, getting the job done by the slimmest of margins.

As we stand here today, Fratus has now swum 97 sub-22 50 freestyles, leaving him 3 to go in order to crack 100. Coincidentally, there are 3 rounds of the 50 free at the upcoming World Championships, which start in just a few weeks. Based off the results from the 2015, 2017, and 2019 World Championships, Fratus won’t necessarily have to swim a sub-22 50 free to advance to semifinals in Budapest, however, he has a track record of swimming fast in every round of the event. For example, at the 2017 World Champs, Fratus swam a 21.51 in prelims, leading the field. He was 21.71 in prelims at the 2019 World Champs and 21.67 in prelims at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics last summer. Moreover, he’s just proven that he’s still capable of swimming multiple 21-points at a single meet, having clocked 3 of them at the Mare Nostrum – Monte Carlo stop.

While we can’t predict a final time or whether he’ll win another World Championships medal, it does appear as if Bruno Fratus is well on his way to swimming his 100th 21-point 50 free. We’ll be continuing this series of “100 watch” as the World Championships progress.

The table below shows all 95 of Fratus’ 21-point 50 freestyles in his career, listed in chronological order starting with his first sub-22 at the 2009 Brazilian Nationals, all the way up through his 21.99 in finals on Saturday at the Mare Nostrum Canet stop. A huge thanks to SwimSwam/Swimming Stats’ Daniel Takata and coach Alex Pussieldi for helping to compile and verify this data.

Year Time Date Event City Info
2009 21.91 5/5/2009 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Final
2009 21.87 9/2/2009 BRA Nationals Palhoca Prelim
2009 21.80 9/2/2009 BRA Nationals Palhoca Final
2009 21.81 12/17/2009 BRA Nationals Sao Paulo Final
2010 21.93 8/21/2010 Pan Pacific Championships Victoria Final
2011 21.76 7/29/2011 World Championships Shanghai Semifinal
2011 21.96 7/30/2011 World Championships Shanghai Final
2012 21.99 4/14/2012 Swim Cup Eindhoven Prelim
2012 21.87 4/15/2012 Swim Cup Eindhoven Final
2012 21.70 4/24/2012 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Prelim
2012 21.76 4/24/2012 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Final
2012 21.82 8/2/2012 Olympic Games London Prelim
2012 21.63 8/2/2012 Olympic Games London Semifinal
2012 21.61 8/3/2012 Olympic Games London Final
2013 21.92 2/16/2013 FRA Meet Nancy Final
2013 21.98 4/22/2013 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Prelim
2013 21.92 4/22/2013 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Final
2013 21.80 12/18/2013 BRA Open Porto Alegre Final
2013 21.82 12/18/2013 BRA Open Porto Alegre Final
2014 21.45 4/21/2014 BRA Nationals Sao Paulo Final
2014 21.44 8/24/2014 Pan Pacific Championships Gold Goast Final
2014 21.45 12/16/2014 BRA Open Rio de Janeiro Prelim
2014 21.41 12/16/2014 BRA Open Rio de Janeiro Final
2015 21.91 1/15/2015 USA Grand Prix Austin Final
2015 21.91 4/6/2015 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Prelim
2015 21.74 4/6/2015 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Final
2015 21.91 7/17/2015 Pan American Games Toronto Final
2015 21.60 8/7/2015 World Championships Kazan Semifinal
2015 21.55 8/8/2015 World Championships Kazan Final
2015 21.99 8/17/2015 BRA Nationals Sao Paulo Prelim
2015 21.89 8/17/2015 BRA Nationals Sao Paulo Final
2015 21.66 12/16/2015 BRA Open Palhoca Prelim
2015 21.37 12/16/2015 BRA Open Palhoca Final
2015 21.50 12/16/2015 BRA Open Palhoca Final
2016 21.74 4/15/2016 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Final
2016 21.93 8/11/2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro Prelim
2016 21.71 8/11/2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro Semifinal
2016 21.79 8/12/2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro Final
2017 21.83 5/2/2017 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Prelim
2017 21.70 5/2/2017 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Final
2017 21.77 6/10/2017 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Semifinal
2017 21.78 6/10/2017 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Final
2017 21.76 6/13/2017 Mare Nostrum Barcelona Final
2017 21.92 6/17/2017 Mare Nostrum Canet Final
2017 21.81 6/23/2017 Trofeo Sette Colli Rome Prelim
2017 21.86 6/23/2017 Trofeo Sette Colli Rome Final
2017 21.73 7/1/2017 French Open Chartres Prelim
2017 21.97 7/1/2017 French Open Chartres Final
2017 21.51 7/28/2017 World Championships Budapest Prelim
2017 21.60 7/28/2017 World Championships Budapest Semifinal
2017 21.27 7/29/2017 World Championships Budapest Final
2018 21.76 4/17/2018 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Prelim
2018 21.35 4/17/2018 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Final
2018 21.74 4/28/2018 TYR Derby Pro Swim Meet Louisville Prelim
2018 21.87 4/28/2018 TYR Derby Pro Swim Meet Louisville Final
2018 21.85 6/9/2018 Mare Nostrum Canet Final
2018 21.76 6/13/2018 Mare Nostrum Barcelona Final
2018 21.89 6/16/2018 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Quarters
2018 21.92 6/16/2018 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Semifinal
2018 21.64 6/16/2018 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Final
2018 21.79 6/29/2018 Trofeo Sette Colli Rome Final
2018 21.77 6/29/2018 Trofeo Sette Colli Rome Final
2018 21.90 7/7/2018 Open de France Chartres Final
2019 21.68 4/16/2019 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Prelim
2019 21.47 4/16/2019 BRA Nationals Rio de Janeiro Final
2019 21.67 5/11/2019 FINA Champions Swim Series Budapest Final
2019 21.81 6/8/2019 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Prelim
2019 21.89 6/8/2019 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Quarters
2019 21.56 6/8/2019 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Semifinal
2019 21.31 6/8/2019 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Final
2019 21.64 6/11/2019 Mare Nostrum Canet Final
2019 21.89 6/15/2019 Mare Nostrum Barcelona Final
2019 21.63 6/21/2019 Trofeo Sette Colli Rome Prelim
2019 21.42 6/21/2019 Trofeo Sette Colli Rome Final
2019 21.71 7/26/2019 World Championships Gwangju Prelim
2019 21.53 7/26/2019 World Championships Gwangju Semifinal
2019 21.45 7/27/2019 World Championships Gwangju Final
2019 21.61 8/6/2019 Pan American Games Lima Final
2019 21.59 12/4/2019 US Open Atlanta Prelim
2019 21.72 12/4/2019 US Open Atlanta Final
2020 21.77 1/25/2020 Euro Meet Luxembourg Final
2020 21.97 3/5/2020 USA Sectionals Plantation Prelim
2021 21.73 4/9/2021 TYR Pro Swim Series Mission Viejo Prelim
2021 21.80 4/9/2021 TYR Pro Swim Series Mission Viejo Final
2021 21.98 5/15/2021 Atlanta Classic Atlanta Final
2021 21.91 5/29/2021 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Final
2021 21.87 5/30/2021 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Semifinal
2021 21.73 6/5/2021 Mare Nostrum Barcelona Final
2021 21.71 6/25/2021 Trofeo Sette Colli Rome Final
2021 21.67 7/30/2021 Olympic Games Tokyo Prelim
2021 21.60 7/31/2021 Olympic Games Tokyo Semifinal
2021 21.57 8/1/2021 Olympic Games Tokyo Final
2022 21.85 5/21/2022 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Quarters
2022 21.76 5/22/2022 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Semifinal
2022 21.49 5/22/2022 Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo Final
2022 21.78 5/25/2022 Mare Nostrum Barcelona Final
2022 21.99 5/28/2022 Mare Nostrum Canet Final

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ChefJake
2 years ago

There’s nothing sweeter than a repeater!

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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