Brazilian Phenom Felipe Ribeiro To Join Florida State Seminoles

Brazil’s Junior World Champs bronze medalist Felipe Ribeiro will join the Florida State program in the NCAA.

Ribeiro, one of the brightest young talents for the proud sprinting nation, had already announced last month his intent to join a training program in the United States. This week, he confirmed to SwimSwam that Tallahassee, Florida and Florida State University would be his chosen destination.

“I chose FSU because I really liked the environment, the coaches, the team and the facilities,” Ribeiro said. “I am sure that is the right place for me to spend my next 4 years. I can’t wait to be a Seminole.”

Ribeiro, who is still 18 years old, is one of the world’s best junior sprinters. In 2015, he was the bronze medalist in the 100 free at Junior Worlds, finishing only behind American Maxime Rooney (ranked as the #1 domestic recruit in his class) and eventual Olympic champ Kyle Chalmers of Australia.

Ribeiro is also occasionally known as Felipe de Souza, as his full name is Felipe Ribeiro de Souza.

He holds lifetime-bests that should make him a massive sprint free contributor right out the gate, though of course that’s all dependent on how well he can adapt to the NCAA’s short course yards format.

Ribeiro’s Top Times

Times are listed in long course meters, with short course yards conversions in parentheses.

• 50 free: 22.58 (19.6)
• 100 free: 49.16 (42.8)

Ribeiro joins a Florida State program that is just beginning its first year under new head coach Neal Studd. There’s no word yet on when Ribeiro will be eligible to start competing, but last month, Ribeiro made clear he plans to start his next training cycle in the United States.