João Gomes Junior has been a staple on the Brazilian national team since 2009 when he competed at his first World Championships. The breaststroke specialist made his Olympic debut aged 30 in front of a home crowd at the Rio Games where he made the final in the 100 meter breaststroke and medley relay.
After winning three gold medals for his heat swims in the Brazilian relays at the 2014 World Short Course Championships, Gomes tested positive for a banned diuretic. He received a six month ban from the sport and returned with just over a year to go before his home Olympic Games.
International Career
2009 FINA World Championships (Rome, Italy)
Gomes made his first World Championships in 2009 where he finished seventh in the 50 meter breaststroke final and 30th over all in the 100 meter breaststroke.
2013 FINA World Championships (Barcelona, Spain)
After missing 2011, Gomes was back at the World Championships in 2013. He qualified in third place in the 50 meter breaststroke final but his time of 27.20 was enough for fifth place. In the longer distance, Gomes finished 14th in the 100 meter.
2016 Olympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Gomes made his Olympic debt in Rio. With the home crowd backing him, Gomes finished fifth in 59.31. He finished ahead of his compatriot, Felipe Franca who finished seventh, earning him the place in the 400 meter medley relay. On the final day in Rio, Gomes joined Guilherme Guido, Henrique Martins and Marcelo Chierighini in the relay. The Brazilians finished sixth.
2017 FINA World Championships (Budapest, Hungary)
Gomes missed the 2015 World Championships due to a six-months ban for doping which held him out of the Championship qualifying event.
In 2017 at his third World Championships, 31 year old Gomes won a silver medal in the 50 meter breaststroke. He touched in 26.52 behind Great Britain’s World Record holder Adam Peaty. That time set a new Brazilian national record.
2018 Pan Pacific Championships (Tokyo, Japan)
Gomes earned his first international medal in the 100 breast on the first day of pan pacs, touching the wall at 59.60, good for 3rd place and a bronze.
2019 World Championships (Gwangju, South Korea)
Gomes kept his international medal streak alive, touching for 3rd in the 50 breast with a time of 26.69, combining with teammate Felipe Lima for a 2-3 finish for Brazil. Gomes also finished 11th in the 100 breast in 59.32 after going 59.25 in the prelims.
2019 Pan American Games (Lima, Peru)
Back in his home continent, Gomes won 2 more medals at Pan Ams. First was gold in the 100 breast, registering a winning time of 59.51, just .06 ahead of USA’s Cody Miller. Gomes helped Brazil to a silver in the 4×100 medley relay, splitting 58.86 on the breaststroke split.
