The Brazilian Swimming Federation (CBDA) responded on Tuesday to recent complaints from its Athletes Commission regarding inadequate conditions at the 2023 Brazilian Championships earlier this month in Recife.
In a statement released online, the CBDA acknowledged its failure to keep the warm-down pool within the range of 77 degrees to 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit recommended by World Aquatics. The pool was in excess of 84 degrees at the Santos Dumont Water Park, which took over hosting duties this year from the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center in Rio.
“This point we really admit may have contributed negatively to the level of the competition, since the water was at the upper limit of the appropriate range,” the CBDA wrote.
However, the CBDA challenged the notion that other factors such as a faulty scoreboard harmed athletes’ performances at the Brazil Trophy.
“Due to electrical breakdown, the scoreboard did not work in the first two races of the third stage,” the CBDA wrote. “However, even in these two races, the system worked normally, and the technicians involved had access to the control cabin and could prove this… No time failed to be marked. Anyway, we don’t see how this could have harmed the performance of any athlete.”
The original letter from the Athletes Commission also called out the CBDA for being behind its peers in terms of Olympic planning, lacking a location for this year’s Jose Finkel Trophy or dates for the 2024 Olympic Trials. The CBDA responded by saying that the Olympic Trials dates (June 3-6, 2024) had already been decided on last year. The organization also noted that the next two selection meets — the Jose Finkel Trophy from October 31 to November 4, 2023, and the 2024 Olympic Trials — will most likely take place in indoor pools.
This year’s Brazil Trophy saw a broadcasting drone fall into the Santos Dumont Water Park’s outdoor pool during the opening prelims session after hitting a bird. Fortunately, no one was hurt as the swimmers competing were at the opposite end of the pool. Later that day, 100-meter breaststroke champion Jhennifer Conceicao and third-place finisher Ana Carolina Vieria reportedly got into a physical altercation after their podium celebration. Conceicao filed a police report against her Pinheiros club teammate after the incident alleging that Vieria attacked her from behind and slammed her face into a railing. After the meet wrapped up, the CBDA relented on its lofty relay standards and made plans to send swimmer to all eight relays after only the women’s 800 free relay met the initial marks.
“In addition to harming the athletes’ performance, swimming was embarrassed on national television and may have lost public support and sponsors with what happened here in Recife,” the Athletes Commission wrote on Monday. “If we want to upset the main powers of world swimming, a lot needs to change and we can no longer go through situations like the ones that happened in this Brazil Trophy.”
The CBDA further defended its choice to hold the Brazil Trophy in Recife by noting their mission of expanding the sport to “the four corners of the country.” The meet marked the first time that the Brazil Trophy had been hosted in the northeast region of the country in 49 years. Bahia, one of the 26 states of Brazil located in the northeast region of the country, captured its first gold medal in a women’s race in more than 20 years.
“We had the victory and the qualification for three Brazilian northeasterners who spent most of their careers in the northeast,” the CBDA replied. “Our country is huge, and if we want more children to fall in love with swimming, it is necessary to take it to the four corners of the country.”