54 Brazilian swimmers are entered in the 10k open water marathon, the first event of the 2018 Troféu Brasil, or Brazilian National Championships, which will kick off April 15th at Copacabana Olympic Beach.
Ana Marcela Cunha, Brazil’s stalwart marathon swimmer, will square off with Dutch 10k Olympic champion Sharon van Rouwendaal in the same waters where van Rouwendaal won her Olympic gold. Marcela Cunha and van Rouwendaal, though from different countries, will both race under the UNISANTA banner. The only other UNISANTA swimmers that will race the marathon include Victor Colonese, who represented Brazil at the 2011, 2015, and 2017 FINA World Championships in open water, and Henrique Figueirinha, an 18-year-old rising star in open water swimming.
Two days following the marathon, some of the open water competitors will also take to the pool at the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center to compete in the pool events of the Troféu Brasil.
Brazilians to look for who will be competing in both the 10k and in the pool include Viviane Jungblut of Grêmio Náutico União, who is ranked 2nd in the 400m free, 1st in the 1500m free–a full 26 seconds ahead of Marcela Cunha–and 2nd in the 800m free; Luiz Gustavo Barros of Grêmio Náutico União, who will race the 800m and 1500m where he is seeded 11th and 10th, respectively; and Alexander Finco of Grêmio Náutico União, who in addition to the 10k will race the 400m, 800m, and 1500m pool events, where he is seeded 11th, 9th, and 8th, respectively. Bruce Hanson Cruz de Almeida of Corinthians is another to keep an eye on. Cruz de Almeida has already been tapped to represent Brazil at the 2018 South American Games and will swim both the 10k and the 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyles, where he is seeded 5th, 7th, and 6th, respectively.