After qualifying for Brazil’s Short Course World Championships team in a time-trialed 100 IM yesterday, Thiago Pereira has announced he’ll sit out of the rest of the Jose Finkel Trophy meet to rest a groin injury.
The Jose Finkel Trophy is taking place in Guaratingueto this week as the selection meet for Brazil’s national team for the Short Course World Championships in Doha, Qatar this winter. Though the 100 IM is not on the Finkel event lineup, several athletes competed in a time trial version yesterday in hopes of making the cut time to represent Brazil at Worlds. Pereira won the event, going 52.45 and punching his ticket to Qatar.
Pereira now says he’ll take the rest of the meet off and rest for the next two weeks to deal with what’s been a recurring injury for him. Pereira was hindered by the injury at last summer’s World Championships in Barcelona, SporTV’s Blog do Coach reports, and it worsened during the BHP Billiton Aquatic Super Series event in Australia over the winter.
Pereira will use his two weeks off to travel to America, where he wants to officially select his coach and training home for the next two years leading up to the 2016 Olympics in his home country.
With his 100 IM cut, Pereira is officially onto the Brazilian national team for Short Course Worlds. He will swim that event for sure, and can also enter any other event where Brazil doesn’t already have two swimmers under the cut time.
