Fantoni Rips Lifetime Best 200 Back To Qualify For Short Course Worlds

2021 JOSE FINKEL TROPHY (BRAZILIAN SWIMMING C’SHIPS)

• Tuesday, August 10th – Saturday, August 14th
• Bauru, Brazil
• SCM (25m)
• Primary Selection Meet For World Short Course Championships
• SwimSwam Preview
• Start List
• Day 1 Recap
• Results

Day 2 of the Jose Finkel Trophy saw eight additional swimmers notch performances good enough to surpass the Brazilian Swimming Federation’s (CBDA) mandated time standards to qualify for this year’s World Short Course Championships.

Among them was Caio Pumputis, the man who already qualified in the men’s 100m breaststroke. On day 2, the 22-year-old busted out a time of 1:53.02 to win the men’s 200m IM. That easily cleared the 1:55.25 needed for Abu Dhabi and also approached the man’s lifetime best of 1:52.26 from this same meet in 2018.

The women’s 200m IM saw three swimmers get under the 2:11.51 QT for Worlds, led by Nathalia Almeida. Almeida fired off a time of 2:10.35, scorching her previous PB of 2:11.41 from the 2018 edition of this Jose Finkel Trophy.

In fact, Almeida’s outing here now frog hops her over Maria Pessanha to become Brazil’s 2nd fastest woman ever in this SCM evet. The national record stands at the swift 2:09.03 Joanna Maranhao-Melo put on the books in 2009.

Joining Almedia under the qualifying threshold were Stephanie Balduccini and Fernanda Celidonio who touched in times of 2:10.99 and 2:11.13, respectively for silver and bronze.

Additional winners included Gabriel Fantoni getting it done for gold in the men’s 200m backstroke, producing a solid effort of 1:51.73. That was well under the 1:52.66 needed for Abu Dhabi, but it also knocked well over a second off of Fantoni’s previous personal best of 1:53.25.

With Fantoni’s performance here in Bauru, the Indiana Hoosier now becomes Brazil’s 2nd fastest man ever in this event, sitting only behind record-holder Leonardo de Deus’ top mark of 1:51.51 from 5 years ago.

The women’s 800m freestyle saw Gabrielle Roncatto get to the wall first in the morning heats, claiming the top spot of the timed final in 8:29.67.

However, it was Viviane Jungblut who ultimately took the meet title, producing a time of 8:22.71 to have both women easily grab qualify for the World SC Championships.

Guilherme Costa was the top swimmer in the men’s 1500m free, raking in the gold in a mark of 14:42.77. That outing was just off his own lifetime best of 14:41.33.

Brazilian World SC Championships Qualifiers Through Jose Finkel Day 2:

Gabrielle Roncatto – 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle
Nathalia Almeida – 400m freestyle, 200m IM
Fernando Scheffer – 400m freestyle
Guilherme Costa – 400m freestyle and 1500m freestyle
Giovanna Diamante – 100m butterfly
Vinicius Lanza – 100m butterfly
Leonardo Santos – 100m butterfly, 200m IM
Felipe Lima – 100m breast
Caio Pumputis – 100m breast, 200m IM
Stephanie Balduccini – 200m IM
Viviane Jungblut – 800m freestyle
Gabriel Fantoni – 200m back