Brazil breaks men’s 4×50 medley relay World Record as 6 teams shatter old mark

After Russia reset the men’s 4×50 medley relay World Record in prelims, no less than 6 teams crushed the mark in finals, led by world champs and new record-holders Brazil.

The Brazilians went 1:30.51, which is more than two seconds faster than Russia’s previous mark. In a field of 6 record-breaking teams, Brazil won by seven tenths of a second, buoyed by outstanding breast and fly legs from Nicholas Santos and Felipe Franca, respectively.

Here’s a look at the splits compared to what Russia went in setting the record in prelims:

Brazil: 1:30.51

• Guilherme Guido: 23.42
• Felipe Franca: 25.33
• Nicholas Santos: 21.68
• Cesar Cielo: 20.08

Russia (prelims): 1:32.78

• Stanislav Donetc: 23.73
• Sergei Geibel: 25.96
• Aleksandr Popov: 22.47
• Evgeny Sedov: 20.62

Also breaking the Russians’ record: France (1:31.25), USA (1:31.83), Russia (1:32.15 after swapping out Donetc for Sergei Fesikov, Geibel for Kirill Prigoda and Sedov for Vlad Morozov), Great Britain (1:32.30) and Italy (1:32.68).