Balduccini Fires Off 53.87 Brazilian, South American Records In 100 Free

2025 MARIA LENK TROPHY/BRAZILIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Monday, April 21st – Saturday, April 26th
• Flamengo Pool, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• LCM (25m)
• Meet Central
• Entries
• Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap
• Live Results
• Livestream

On day three of the 2025 Maria Lenk Trophy/Brazilian Swimming Championships, two spectacular swims took place, one on the men’s side and one on the women’s.

For the former, we reported how University of Tennessee swimmer Gui Caribe smashed a huge lifetime best of 47.10 to become the 10th-fastest man in history and the top performer in the world this season.

• Gui Caribe Rips World-Leading 47.10 LCM 100 Fr

As for the women, 20-year-old Stephanie Balduccini of the University of Michigan scorched the women’s 100m freestyle, putting up a lifetime best of 53.87 to establish a new South American continental record.

After setting the stage with a swift morning swim of 54.34 to capture the top seed, Balduccini fired off splits of 26.13/27.74 to grab the gold over a second ahead of the pack.

Gabriela Albiero, formerly of the University of Louisville, earned silver in 55.46 and Maria Fernanda Costa, the women’s 400m free champion here, collected bronze in 55.68.

Entering this competition, Balduccini’s lifetime best in the 100m free rested at the 54.05 registered at last year’s World Championships. That rendered her the #2 Brazilian performer in history, with only Larissa Oliveira ranked ahead with her Brazilian and South American record of 54.03 from the 2016 edition of this competition.

However, flash forward to these finals, and Balduccini’s 53.87 marks the first-ever sub-54-second outing from a Brazilian female.

She now ranks 11th in the world on the season, with her time easily clearing the 54.25 World Aquatics ‘A’ standard needed to add the event to her World Championships program.

Balduccini has been on fire at these championships. She already posted new lifetime bests in the 100m fly (58.94) and 200m free (1:56.43), with the latter earning her a spot on the World Championships squad.