Brazil Finalizes Roster for 2023 Worlds; Relents on Lofty Relay Standards

The CBDA, which organizes aquatic sports in Brazil, has finalized its roster for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, including plans to send swimmers for all eight relays.

• The swimming portion of the 2023 World Aquatics Championships

Initially, the CBDA required certain add-up times from this week’s Brazil Trophy results to send relays to the World Championships. Specifically, they wanted the 5th-place time from last year’s World Championships plus a 1.2 second allowance for relay exchanges.

So, for example, Hungary’s men’s 400 free relay finished 5th at Worlds last year in 3:11.24. That meant that Brazil’s top four finishers in the 100 free at the Brazil Trophy would have had to add up to 3:12.44. They didn’t – the addup was 3:13.51:

• Guliherme Santos – 48.11
• Marcelo Chierighini – 48.14 (47.86 in prelims)
• Victor Guimaraes – 48.56
• Felipe Ribeiro Souza – 48.70
• Total Time – 3:13.51

Only the women’s 800 free relay met that standard.

After an uproar over the relay standards, though, the CBDA announced on Twitter that “with the unanimous support of the High Performance Technical Council,” they would call all Brazilian relays for the Fukuoka World Championships.

COMUNICADO

Seguindo os critérios de convocação para a seleção brasileira de Natação, a Diretoria de Natação da CBDA, com apoio unânime do Conselho Técnico de Alto Rendimento, decidiu convocar todos os revezamentos brasileiros para o Mundial de Fukuoka. pic.twitter.com/aiYftAAFP0

— CBDA (@CBDAoficial) June 3, 2023

2023 World Championships Roster

Brazil will send 13 swimmers to the World Championships in individual events, plus an additional 13 swimmers in relays. In total, the roster has 12 women and 14 men – which in itself is a remarkable shift in the country’s swimming culture. At the 2019 World Championships, for example, Brazil sent 20 swimmers – 18 men and just 2 women.

Gabrielle Roncatto, in the 400m freestyle, and Viviane Jungblut and Beatriz Dizotti, in the 1500m freestyle, had the best finishes relative to the 2022 World Rankings.

The roster includes Fernando Scheffer, who won a bronze in the 200 free at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and Guilherme Costa, who won a bronze medal in the 400 free at last year’s World Championship. Santos is the only of three men who finaled at last year’s World Championships who returns this year.

The Brazilian women return all three of their finalists at last year’s World Championships: Viviane Jungblut (8th in the 800, 7th in the 1500); Beatriz Dizotti (6th in the 1500); and Jhennifer Conceicao (8th in the 50 breast).

Conceicao is only invited as a relay swimmer, though with room in her events, she might option into individual events. Conceicao had an eventful week, ultimately filing a police report against rival Ana Carolina Vieria after the two allegedly became involved in a physical altercation.

University of Tennessee rising sophomore Gui Caribe will join the roster as well. One of the top freshman in the NCAA last season, Caribe swam 48.11 in the 100 free this week in Recife. In December, he broke the Brazilian Junior Record in that event in 47.82.

See the squad for Fukuoka

Individual Women:

1. Gabrielle Roncatto – Unisanta
2. Viviane Jungblut – GNU
3. Beatriz Dizotti – Unisanta
4. Maria Fernanda Costa – Unisanta
5. Stephan Steverink – Flamengo
6. Gabrielle Assis – Flamengo
7. Bruna Leme – Corinthians

Individual Men:

1. Leonardo de Deus – Unisanta
2. Guilherme Costa – Unisanta
3. Fernando Scheffer – MTC
4. Guilherme Caribé – Flamengo
5. Marcelo Chierigini – Pinheiros
6. Kayky Mota – Pinheiros

Relays

Men’s 4×100 free

• Vitor Alcara – Pinheiros
• Felipe Ribeiro – Unisanta

Men’s 4×200 free

• Luiz Altamir – Ideal
• Murilo Sartori

Men’s 4×100 medley

• Guilherme Basseto – Unisanta
• Joao Gomes   – Pinheiros

Women’s 4×100 free

• Ana Carolina Vieira – Pinheiros
• Celine Bishop – Yacht Club
• Giovanna Diamante – Pinheiros

Women’s 4×200 free

• Stephanie Balduccini – Pinheiros
• Nathália Almeida – Unisanta

Women’s 4×100 medley

• Júlia Goes – SESI/SP
• Jhennifer Conceição – Pinheiros