2019 Brazil Trophy Night 4: Four Men Crack 1:00 In 100 Breast Final

2019 BRAZIL TROPHY (FORMERLY MARIA LENK)

• April 16th-21st, 2019
• Maria Lenk Aquatic Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Meet central
• Entry list
• Start list
• Live results

Night 4 of the 2019 Brazil Trophy Meet, which serves as a qualifying meet for the 2019 FINA World Championships, features the men’s and women’s 200m fly, 100m breast, as well as the men’s 1500m free.

MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY

Luiz Altamir Melo, the third place finisher in the men’s 200 freestyle on night one, went out fast and held on through the finish. He blasted a 1:56.77 to take a tight win in the men’s 200 fly over a charging Leonardo De Deus, who finished right behind in 1:56.95.

Since both athletes missed the FINA ‘A’ standard of 1:56.71, Melo is the only secured qualifier for the FINA World Championships this summer. Both Melo and De Deus’s times are within the top 25 times in the world thus far.

Running third was soon-to-be Indiana University post-graduate Vini Lanza, who touched closely behind at 1:57.04.

WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY

In the women’s 200 fly, Ilaria Cusinato and Virginia Martin lead the way from start to finish. Cusinato took it out fast, but Martin held on the entire way; making a big push in the final few meters. Cusinato held on, though, stopping the clock at 2:11.03. Martin held on for the runner-up position, recording a final time of 2:11.63.

Both of the top two finishers were well under the FINA ‘B’ Standard time of 2:13.03 – the ‘A’ Cut is a bit quicker, though, set at 2:09.21.

Teammates Delfina Pignatellio and Giovanna Diamante also dipped below the ‘B’ cut, putting up times of 2:12.08 and 2:12.45, respectively. Diamante was the highest-finishing Brazilian, so she should get the slot for this event at World’s.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE

Four people dipped below the 1:00 barrier in the men’s 100 breaststroke.

Joao Luiz Gomez took it out quick, heading into the final last comfortably first. Breaststroke veteran Felipe Lima had a huge last 50 to close the gap, however, and Felipe Silva and Caio Pumputis also charged close behind.

In the final meters, Lima had a huge lunge to the wall to appear to take the lead from Gomez. Instead, the two ended up tying for first, clocking a final time of 59.56. Both times are under the FINA ‘A’ Cut Standard of 59.95, so the two should automatically qualify for Worlds.

Felipe Silva picked up third with his 59.71 to edge out Georgia Tech sophomore Caio Pumputis by the slimmest of margins – he cracked 1:00 for the first time in his career to finish in 59.72.

WOMEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE

Macarena Ailen Ceballos lead a tight women’s 100 breaststroke field from beginning to end, though Jhennifer Conceicao and Julia Sebastian gave chase throughout the race.

Ceballos ended up touching first in a time of 1:08.27, barely edging out Conceicao, who finished at 1:08.37; and Sebastian, the final competitor under 1:09 with her 1:08.60. Ceballos should safely qualify for Worlds, as she’s well under the FINA ‘B’ cut standard set at 1:09.79. The ‘A’ cut in the event stands at 1:07.43.

MEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE

The men’s mile saw a game of cat and mouse between Guilherme Pereira da Costa, the national record holder in the event, and Diogo Villarinho. Costa took it out quick, but Villarinho fought hard to catch up in the middle of the race; overtaking the lead for a small portion of the back-end.

Eventually, Costa battled his way back to a solid win, claiming the event in a final time of 15:05.91. Villarinho settled for second with a 15:06.80.

With his win in the mile, Guilherme Pereira da Costa is the first Brazilian in history to qualify for Worlds in both the 5K and the 1500. Both Costa and Villarinho were barely under the FINA ‘A’ Cut of 15:07.38.

Women’s 4×100 Free Relay

When Mallory Comerford hit the water on the 3rd leg of Minas Tenis’ 400 free relay, her team was more than a body-length behind Pinheiros.

She erased that deficit in a hurry, splitting a 52.88 on Minas’ anchor leg to pull the race into a dead-heat. She turned the race over to anchor Andressa Lima, who split 56.38 to overtake Pinheiros’ Lorrane Ferreira in the final 50 meters and secure the win in 3:42.49. Pinheiros was 2nd in 3:42.49.

To put into context just how impactful Comerford’s swim was on this relay: her split was 1.2 seconds faster than the Brazilian Record in the 100 free.

Men’s 4×100 Free Relay

Relays are often-times secondary at selection meets, but not in Brazil, where the relays carry huge scoring implications.

And among the relays, this men’s 400 free was the most anticipated in the country in a while. That anticipation drew not from any expectation of a competitive race; rather, it drew from the fact that Pinheiros’ relay was made up of the top 4 finishers in the individual men’s 100 free. So, Pinheiros’ relay is Brazil’s relay.

The team of Gabriel Santos, Breno Correia, Marcelo Chierighini, and Pedro Spajari combined for a 3:12.09 to win and break the Meet Record in the race. Chierighini, winner of the individual 100 in a 47.6, split 47.43 on a rolling-start on this relay. Santos was 48.4 on the leadoff, followed by a 48.17 from Correia, Chierighini’s 47.4, and a 48.04 anchor from Spajari.

BRAZILIAN 2019 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS Through Friday’s Races

• Men’s 200 free: Fernando Scheffer, Breno Correia, Luiz Altamir Melo, Joao de Lucca
• Women’s 100 back: Etiene Medeiros
• Men’s 100 back: Guilherme Guido, Gabriel Fantoni
• Women’s 800 free: Viviane Jungblut
• Men’s 200 breast: Caio Pumputis
• Men’s 100 fly: Vini Lanza
• Men’s 800 free: Miguel Valente
• Women’s 400 IM: Fernanda Goeij
• Men’s 400 IM: Brandonn Almeida
• Women’s 100 free: Etiene Medeiros
• Men’s 100 free: Marcelo Chierighini, Breno Correia
• Women’s 1500 free: Viviane Jungblut

New Friday Additions:

• Mens’ 200 butterfly: Luiz Altamir Melo
• Women’s 200 butterfly: Giovanna Diamante
• Men’s 100 breaststroke: Felipe Lima, Joao Luiz Gomez
• Women’s 100 breaststroke: –
• Men’s 1500 freestyle: Guilherme Pereira da Costa, Diogo Villarinho

Top 5 Teams After Day 4:

Minas Tenis extended their team lead to 190 points after the 4th day of competition. The presence of Mallory Comerford has buoyed their score and has effectively created the gap in what would otherwise be a neck-and-neck meet.

1. Minas Tenis – 1696
2. Pinheiros – 1506
3. Corinthians – 721
4. UNISANTA – 517
5. Flamengo – 404