SOUTH AMERICA: Only Brazil Has Advanced Beyond Heats At 2019 Worlds So Far

2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• All sports: Friday, July 12 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
• Pool swimming: Sunday, July 21 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
• The Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center, Gwangju, Korea
• Meet site
• Competition Schedule
• FinaTV Live Stream
• Start Lists
• Results

Through two days of competition, Brazil is the only South American nation to advance a swimmer past prelims of the 2019 World Championships.

It appears the closest to qualifying so far was Chile’s Kristel Kobrich, who finished 12th in the 1500 free this morning. Kobrich was only about 8 seconds out of 8th place and a ticket to the finals. If she had matched her 2013 national record of 15:54, she’d have been sitting 4th overall out of heats.

But the 33-year-old Kobrich hasn’t been under 16:10 since 2015. Her 16:16.26 this morning was a bit slower than her best times over the past two seasons, too, though those times also wouldn’t have qualified for finals.

Tomorrow, a couple of South Americans have decent chances to join Brazil with some evening swims. The men’s 50 breast offers a couple opportunities: Paraguay’s Renato Prono is the 23rd seed and Colombia’s Jorge Murillo Valdes is 29th. Both are within the circle-seeded heats.

Then on Wednesday, Ecuador’s Tomas Peribonio is in the circle-seeded heats of the men’s 200 IM and Peru’s Maria Munoz in circle-seeded heats of the women’s 200 fly.

Note: while sometimes, Central American countries get lumped in with South America, we’re using only the nations included in the South American Swimming Confederation (CONSANAT): Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Other South American storylines of note on day 2:

• It was a day of highs and lows for Brazil’s Guilherme Guido. The backstroker hit a lifetime-best and Brazilian/South American record 52.95 in heats of the 100 back, qualifying 2nd overall. But then in semifinals, he fell back three tenths and just barely made the final in 53.23 – he was 7th overall and two tenths from missing out.
• Nicholas Santos did haul in South America’s first swimming medal of this year’s World Championships. He was third in the 50 fly, going 22.79, though his lifetime-best would have earned silver.
• The men’s 200 free was a missed opportunity for Brazil in both sessions. In the morning, rising star Breno Correia was 17th, missing semifinals by .2. Fernando Scheffer did qualify 6th, but at night, he fell to 9th, missing out on finals by .07.

South AMERICA MEDAL TABLE – DAY 2:

SOUTH AMERICAN RECORDS BROKEN:

• Men’s 100 back: Brazilian record, Guilherme Guido, 52.95 (prelims)