2018 BRAZIL TROPHY (MARIA LENK)
- Tuesday, April 17th – Saturday, April 21st
- Maria Lenk Aquatic Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Prelims: 9:30 AM Rio time / 8:30 AM EST
- Finals: 6:00 PM Rio time / 5:00 PM EST
- Long Course (50m)
- Brazilian Selection Meet for 2018 Pan Pacific Championships
- Live Stream
- Psych Sheet
- Meet Central / Results
When we saw that Cesar Cielo was entered in the 50 back, 50 fly, and 50 and 100 free at the 2018 Brazil Trophy (formerly known as Maria Lenk) we figured there was good chance he would scratch the 50 back given that it is on the same day as the 100 free, and that he has scratched at least one entry at every recent national championship meet.
However, on Thursday, he scratched the 100 free to swim the 50 back. His prelims time of 25.62 makes him the #3-seed (up from #10 entry time) heading into finals tonight.
On the first night of the meet, Cielo led off Pinheiro’s 400 free relay (a rare spot for him) in 49.29, likely testing his 100 free speed knowing that he might scratch the individual race. His time would have been 6th in prelims this morning. However, Cielo also recently confirmed that he will not be attending the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships (even if he qualifies), which he said he was uncertain about last year. Therefore, it was not important that he swim an event in which he was more likely to qualify. He will instead focus on the 2018 FINA World Short Course Championships in December.
“I want to do the best here in the Brazil Trophy, to be faster in events compared to last year, and begin well the preparation for the short course season, which is my priority,” Cielo told Brazilian site Globo Esporte (translated from Portuguese).
Cielo has not said definitively that he will continue to swim after 2018, so Short Course Worlds could potentially be his final meet on the major international stage.