Portugal’s men’s 400 free relay has been invited to participate as the 16th 400 free relay at this summer’s Olympics, replacing the Japanese squad that dropped the race last week.
The Portuguese have not yet officially accepted their bid, however, so there’s still a chance they won’t end up in this position. The best National Time listed in the FINA database for Portugal during the qualifying period is just a 3:29, though the club program from Amadora has been a 3:27. The Portuguese did not enter a relay in this event in either last year’s World Championships or this year’s European Championships, so they may have time-trialed a better time meanwhile.
The country’s top sprinter is Tiago Venancio, who was a 50.04 at the British World Championships earlier this year. He was once one of the world’s top sprinting prospects after swimming a 49.59 in 2004 when he was only 17 years old; his career had stalled-out since then but he looks strong again this year.
We will keep an eye out for confirmation on the Portuguese relay.
What is “British World Championships”?