Psych Sheets Released For 2023 Brazil Trophy; Albiero Siblings Entered

2023 BRAZIL TROPHY

• May 30 – June 3, 2023
• Santos Dumont Park and Sports Center, Recife, Brazil
• LCM (50m)
• World Championship Selection Criteria
• Meet Central
• Start List

The official psych sheets have been released for the 2023 Brazil Trophy, the country’s qualification meet for the upcoming World Championships that will get underway on Tuesday in the city of Recife.

There are a few noteworthy absences at the meet, as both Bruno Fratus and Caio Pumputis will be absent from the competition as they recover from shoulder injuries.

However, there are still plenty of intriguing matchups on the docket, including in the men’s freestyle events, where a loaded field will be headlined by Brazil’s lone active medalist from the 2022 World Championships, Guilherme Costa.

Costa, who won bronze last summer in the men’s 400 free, is the top seed in the 400, 800 and 1500 free by a wide margin, and will also go head-to-head with Tokyo Olympic medalist Fernando Scheffer in the 200 free.

Scheffer, who won bronze at the 2021 Olympics in the 200 free, is the top seed in the event and is also entered in the 100 and 400 free.

Gui Caribe, who is coming off a breakout freshman year at the University of Tennessee, comes in as the top seed in the men’s 50 and 100 freestyle—he’s the only swimmer entered sub-22/sub-48—and he’ll also take on the likes of Marcelo Chierighini and Gabriel Santos in the 50 fly.

Nicholas Santos, who won silver last summer at the World Championships in the 50 fly, announced his retirement after Short Course Worlds this past December.

Other notable entrants on the men’s side include Felipe Franca da Silva and Joao Gomes Junior in the breaststroke events, and former Indiana University star Vini Lanza, who is the top seed in the 200 IM and will take on Kayky Mota and Matheus Gonche in the 100 fly.

A surprising addition to the psych sheets is Nic and Gabi Albiero, the brother/sister duo that has starred for the University of Louisville for the past number of years under head coach and father Arthur Albiero, who was born in Brazil and holds dual citizenship.

Although Nic and Gabi also hold dual citizenship, they will continue to represent the U.S. in international competition, and therefore will not be vying for a spot on Brazil’s World Championship team. They will, however, give a nice boost to the Minas Tenis club in the meet.

Nic, the 2021 NCAA champion in the 200 fly, is entered in the 200 free, 100 back, 200 back 100 fly and 200 fly next week, while Gabi is slated to race six events: 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 50 fly, 100 fly and 200 IM.

Gabi is the top seed in the women’s 50 free, 100 free and 50 fly, while Nic holds the #1 spot in the men’s 200 back and is second in the 100 back and 200 fly.

Other key names to watch for on the women’s side include Jhennifer Conceicao, Beatriz Dizotti and Viviane Jungblut, who were all finalists last year at the World Championships, along with Stephanie Balduccini and Giovanna Tomanik Diamante, who spearheaded the revival of the Brazilian women’s relays last summer.