The CBDA, the Brazilian Confederation of Aquatic Sports, has set its team for the South American Swimming Championships, which will take place March 28th through April 4th in Asuncion, Paraguay.
Notably, 11 of Brazil’s top swimmers, Bruno Fratus, Daniel Orzechowski, Felipe Lima, Joao Gomes, Luiz Arapiraca, Matheus Santana, Nicholas Santos, Thiago Simon, Ana Carvalho, Jhennifer Conception, and Maria Paula Heitmann declined their invitation to compete, while Cesar Cielo and Thiago Pereira made the decision not to compete earlier in the year.
Presumably, those athletes declined the offer in order to train and taper for the Maria Lenk Trophy, the second and final chance for Brazilian athletes to qualify for Olympic Trials. (Click here for a breakdown of the Brazilian swimmers who made, and didn’t make, Olympic cuts at the 2015 Brazilian Open.)
Among those still swimming at South American Championships are South American record-holder Manuella Lyrio, IM powerhouse and three-time Olympian Joanna Maranhao, sprint and backstroke phenom Etiene Medeiros, South American record-holding backstroker Guilherme Guido, junior world record holder Brandonn Almeida, and top Brazilian breaststroker Felipe Franca.
The team still has until February 1st to accept or decline their invitations, so the start list is still a bit flexible.
The full team lists are below:
| Women | Club |
| MANUELLA LYRIO | ECP/SP |
| JOANNA MARANHÃO | ECP/SP |
| ETIENE MEDEIROS | SESI/SP |
| NATALIA DE LUCCAS | SCCP/SP |
| ANA ZORTEA | CRF/RJ |
| DAYNARA DE PAULA | SESI/SP |
| PAMELA SOUZA | SCCP/SP |
| DAIENE DIAS | MTC/MG |
| BRUNA PRIMATI | SESI/SP |
| GRACIELE HERRMANN | GNU/RS |
| JESSICA CAVALHEIRO | SESI/SP |
| NATHÁLIA ALMEIDA | CRF/RJ |
| GABRIELA ROCHA | SCCP/SP |
| GABRIELLA MELLO | SCCP/SP |
| Men | Club |
| HENRIQUE RODRIGUES | ECP/SP |
| GUILHERME GUIDO | ECP/SP |
| FELIPE FRANÇA | SCCP/SP |
| LEONARDO DE DEUS | SCCP/SP |
| LUIZ ALTAMIR MELO | CRF/RJ |
| BRANDONN ALMEIDA | SCCP/SP |
| HENRIQUE BARBOSA | UNISANTA/SP |
| FÁBIO SANTI | ECP/SP |
| GIOVANNY LIMA | SESI/SP |
| ÍCARO PEREIRA | FFC/RJ |
| PEDRO CARDONA | ECP/SP |
| ALAN VITÓRIA | MTC/MG |
| PEDRO SPAJARI | ECP/SP |
| LUCAS SALATTA | SCCP/SP |
Technical Committee Members:
| Prof. Carlos Camargo | Chefe de Equipe/CBDA |
| Prof. Alberto Silva | Técnico /CBDA |
| Prof. Fernando Vanzella | Técnico /CBDA |
| Prof. André Ferreira | Técnico ECP/SP |
| Prof. Carlos Matheus | Técnico SCCP/SP |
| Dr. Gustavo Magliocca | Médico/CBDA |
| Dr. Paulo Cézar Marinho | Biomecânico/CBDA |
| Ft. Natan Cunha | Fisioterapeuta/CBDA |
| Mass. Vagner Nascimento | Massagista/CBDA |
We might see many more swimmers giving up as the meet is close to Maria Lenk, at least those who are not guaranteed to OG or does not have A Cut (Brandonn on 1500m free, Etiene on 100 back)..