D’Artagnan Dias contributed to this report.
Saturday was the final day of Brazil’s Jose Finkel Trophy, the country’s short course national meet and selection meet for the Short Course World Championships in Doha, Qatar. Once again, Femke Heemskerk of the Netherlands was a big star, and Cesar Cielo provided more sprinting fireworks, while breaststroker Moniek Nijhuis put up two big swims of her own.
It was a close race for the first 50 meters of the women’s 100 free, before Femke Heemskerk (Fiat/Minas) pulled away from the field over the last 25. Heemskerk, who wen tout in 25.42 finished in (you guessed it) another meet record of 52.34. Pinheiros’s Larissa Oliveira tried to chase Heemskerk, to no avail, but she still wound up second in 52.88, a new South American record. Daynara de Paula (SESI) was third in 53.80.
The rest of Brazil’s 400 free relay at the Short Course World Championships in Doha will be Graciele Hermann (54.23 in prelims) and Alessandra Marchioro (54.33).
In the men’s 100 free, Cesar Cielo (Fiat/Minas) had a great start, and parlayed that into in first place at the opening turn in 22.13. He won easily in 46.08, but his turns and a long glide into the finish cost him some tenths. Cielo’s teamate Henrique Martins got second with a 47.33 and Pinheiros’ João De Lucca got third in 47.56. Martins and De Lucca (who was 47.33 in prelims) have the same cut time, but De Lucca gets the Worlds spot with his strong 200 free, as selection rules call for tiebreakers to be decided by an athlete’s next-best event. Nicolas Oliveira (47.65) will join Cielo, Martins and De Lucca on the 4×100 free relay in Doha.
Cielo told the SporTV channel after the race that he will go to Arizona to train for Short Course Worlds with coach Scott Goodrich, and that two of his Minas teammates, the brothers Henrique and Felipe Martins, will tag along.
In the girls’ 50 breast, Moniek Nijhuis (Fiat/Minas) pulled away from the field at the start, increased her lead on the turn and won in 30.12. Ana Carla Carvalho (Pinheiros) was second in 31.02, and Carolina Bergamaschi (Fiat/Minas) third in 31.14. Ana Carla Carvalho will join Etiene Medeiros, Daynara De Paula and Larissa Oliveira to make up Brazil’s 4×100 medley relay in Doha.
In the men’s 50 breast, it was a one man race against the clock that came up one detail short. Felipe França (Corinthians) had a great start and turn, but didnt beat his South American Record because of a gliding finish. His mark (25.71) is the top time in the world this year. João Gomes Júnior (Pinheiros) will join França in Doha with his second place 26.54. Felipe Lima (Fiat/Minas) got third with a 26.58.
In women’s 200 back, it was a two-woman race beetwen Andrea Berrino (Unisanta) and Natália De Luccas (Corinthians). They were shoulder-to-shoulder till the last 50 meters, when Berrino’s better turns and underwaters started to take their toll. Berrino pulled out to win in 2:08.01 with De Luccas second in 2:09.18. Florência Perroti was third in 2:11.77.
In the men’s 200 back, Fernando dos Santos (Corinthians) tried to pull ahead of his teammate Leonardo De Deus, but it only worked for the first 100 meters. De Deus put his great underwaters to work with each turn, gaining more and more of an edge as the race went on, and he won in 1:53.36. Dos Santos took second (1:53.68) and Pinheiros’s Fabio Santi wound up third.
In women 4×100 medley relay, Femke Heemskerk, leading off for Minas in backstroke, fell victime to a “Beisel-at-US-nats” start, slipping pretty badly. Despite that, she put together a great second 50 and left Minas barely ahead with a 1:00.38. Moniek Nijhuis opened a monster advantage, spliting 1:05.6 on the breast leg. It was a controlled race from there, with Minas winning in 3:59.48, Pinheiros in second with a 4:02.90 and SESI in third in 4:05.40.
In the men’s 4×100 medley relay, the race was won within the first leg. Pinheiros’ Guilherme Guido completed the backstroke leg in 50.28, nearly 3 seconds ahead of the nearest threat. Corinthians’ Felipe França lowered the margin on breaststroke, blasting a 56.51, but Pinheiros sustained the lead till the end with Bruno Fratus closing out the win. The team went 3:28.07. Minas got second in 3:30.38, with Cielo closing in 46.64, the fastest split of the field, and Unisanta took third with a 3:31.73.
Minas won the overall team title with 2045 points. Pinheiros took second with 1974 and Corinthians ended in third with 1809.5.
On the women’s side, Dutch import Femke Heemskerk (Minas Tenis) was the best performer with 420 points and took ‘best performance’ with 995 points for her 1:52.46 200free.
On the men’s side, Thiago Simon (Corinthians) got the top performer award with 195 points, with his teammate Felipe França earning the performance of the meet with his 56.25 in the 100 breast.
Full results
Brazil’s federation wrap-up
