2017 MARIA LENK TROPHY
- Tuesday, May 2nd – Saturday, May 6th
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Prelims: 9:30 AM Rio time / 8:30 AM EST (Saturday at 10:30 / 9:30 AM)
- Finals: 5:30 PM Rio time / 4:30 PM EST (Fri/Sat 7 / 6 PM)
- Long Course (50m)
- Brazilian Selection Meet for 2017 World Championships
- Psych Sheet
- Meet Central / Results
- Live Results
Unisanta’s Thiago Simon had the swim at day 2 finals of the Maria Lenk Trophy in Rio, becoming the 4th Brazilian to ever crack the 2-minute barrier in the 200 IM, clocking 1:59.49 for the win. The other three to have achieved the feat are national record holder Thiago Pereira (1:55.55), Henrique Rodrigues (1:57.06), and Andre Schultz (1:58.61).
Simon improved his previous best time of 2:00.37 and moved past Diogo Yabe (2:00.20) for #4 on the Brazilian all-time list.
Other highlights from day 2 included Guilherme Guido making his way into the world’s top 10 this morning in the 100 back, taking the #9 spot in a time of 53.78. He was just off that mark tonight with a long finish, but nonetheless took the victory handily in 53.84. It is the second consecutive day that the top FINA point scoring swim has come from the prelims.
The men’s 800 free nearly saw a national record, as Lucas Kanieski came in at 7:58.85 to just miss Luiz Arapiraca‘s 2009 mark of 7:58.20. As did the women’s 1500, where Viviane Jungblut (16:27.57) missed Poliana Okimoto‘s 2013 mark by less than seven tenths (16:26.90). Joanna Maranhao, the only Brazilian record setter so far at the championships, added a second title on day with a decisive win in the women’s 200 IM (2:13.32).
Check out a full recap of each event at day 2 finals below:
Women’s 100 Backstroke
- Andrea Berrino, Unisanta, 1:01.56
- Fernanda Goeiji, Curtibano, 1:02.04
- Natalie Luccas, Pinheiros, 1:02.46
Argentina’s Andrea Berrino took the women’s 100 back title in a time of 1:01.56, a race with a glaring hole as South American Record holder and 2015 Pan American champion Etiene Medeiros opted out of the event this year. The top spot among Brazilians went to Curtibano’s Fernanda Goeiji, who was born in 2000 and is eligible for the Junior World Championships. This swim moved her up from 6th to 2nd on the rankings for World Junior eligible swimmers. The top eight will be selected to the meet.
Men’s 100 Backstroke
- Guilherme Guido, Pinheiros, 53.84
- Guilherme Basseto, Pinheiros, 54.78
- Nathan Bighetti, Fiat/Minas, 54.93
Guido picked up his 14th ever Maria Lenk victory and his 8th in the 100 back with this swim. His prelim swim of 53.78 moves him into a tie for 4th in the FINA point rankings among Brazilians eligible for Worlds, deadlocked with Henrique Martins at 901 points. He’ll have to wait and see if the time holds in the top-8 throughout the rest of the meet.
Joining him on the podium was Guilherme Basseto and Nathan Bighetti, both ten years his junior.
Women’s 200 IM
- Joanna Maranhao, Unisanta, 2:13.32
- Gabrielle Roncatto, Unisanta, 2:16.22
- Virginia Bardach, Fiat/Minas, 2:16.96
Maranhao’s victory was her 31st ever at the Maria Lenk Trophy, and second in two days after her 400 free record yesterday. Her time was just 1.2 seconds off her national record set in 2009 of 2:12.12. Her Unisanta teammate Gabrielle Roncatto had the fastest freestyle leg in the field at 30.10 out of lane 1, as she was able to run down Argentina’s Virginia Bardach for the silver medal.
Men’s 200 IM
- Thiago Simon, Unisanta, 1:59.49
- Brandonn Almeida, Corinthians, 2:00.95
- Vini Lanza, Fiat/Minas, 2:00.97
As Simon became the fourth Brazilian under two minutes he also won his second ever Maria Lenk title and moved into a tie for 18th on the world rankings this season. Brandonn Almeida stormed home in 27.97 to snag second from Vini Lanza by two-one-hundredths. Turning 6th at the 150 wall, Almeida passed Lanza, Leonardo Santos (2:01.15), Evandro Silva (2:01.27) and Henrique Rodrigues (2:02.56) over the final 50 metres. Rodrigues, who was 9th at the Olympics last year in this event, faded badly on the back half and ended up finishing 7th.
Women’s 1500 Freestyle
- Viviane Jungblut, GNU, 16:27.57
- Poliana Okimoto, Unisanta, 16:43.35
- Ana Marcela Cunha, Unisanta, 16:48.86
Jungblut’s showing was the second fastest ever among Brazilians and puts her 12th in the world for 2016-17. The record holder Okimoto was the runner-up, back in 16:43.35. This was Jungblut’s second Maria Lenk title after winning the 800 last year. The mile wasn’t contested last year because it was an Olympic year.
Men’s 800 Freestyle
- Lucas Kanieski, Fiat/Minas, 7:58.85
- Miguel Valente, Fiat/Minas, 7:59.92
- Diogo Villharinho, Fiat/Minas, 8:00.42
As mentioned above Kanieski scared the national record of 7:58.20 as well with his 7:58.85, a time that places him 16th in the world for the season. It was a tight battle throughout, with both Miguel Valente and Diogo Villharinho finishing within two seconds of Kanieski.
Women’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay
- Unisanta, 8:08.63
- Pinheiros, 8:09.68
- Fiat/Minas, 8:10.93
The women’s 4×200 was hotly contested, with Unisanta prevailing in a time of 8:08.63. Maranhao continued to swim lights out with a 1:59.95 lead-off, her first time under 2:00 at the age of 30. Also cracking 2:00 for them was Gabrielle Roncatto, who anchored in 1:59.23.
Pinheiros had an early deficit, came back, and then trailed Unisanta by about a second heading into the final leg. Manuella Lyrio had one of the top splits in the field at 1:59.27, but was up against Roncatto and had to settle for silver. Fiat/Minas took bronze, with their top leg coming from lead-off Maria Heitmann (2:00.22).
Lost in the madness was 16-year-old Rafaela Raurich, who had the fastest lead-off of anyone in 1:59.68. Her Curtibano team placed 6th.
Men’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay
- Unisanta, 7:15.54
- Pinheiros, 7:17.27
- Fiat/Minas, 7:23.17
The men’s 4×200 had the exact same top five as the women’s, with Unisanta prevailing in a Championship Record time of 7:15.54. Leonardo de Deus led them off in 1:48.92, and then it was Thiago Simon (1:48.85), Felipe Souza (1:48.62) and 400 free winner Guilherme Costa (1:49.15) getting them to the wall first.
Luiz Altamir had the fastest lead-off in the field for Pinheiros, out in 1:48.46. The rest of their lineup all split sub-1:50, but ultimately finished about 1.7 seconds behind Unisanta. Fiat/Minas took 3rd, and had a quick 1:47.91 split from 2nd leg Giuliano Rocco. 4th place GNU also had a sub-1:48 split from anchor Fernando Scheffer (1:47.88).
Team Scores
Men
- Fiat/Minas, 370.0
- Pinheiros, 292.0
- Unisanta, 122.0
Women
- Unisanta, 351.0
- Pinheiros, 289.0
- Fiat/Minas, 172.0
Combined
- Pinheiros, 821.0
- Fiat/Minas, 762.0
- Unisanta, 733.0
Fiat/Minas has taken a 78 point lead on the men’s side, led by a podium sweep tonight in the men’s 800 free. They won bronze in the other three events. Pinheiros sits 2nd after a 1-2 in the 100 back and a runner-up finish in the relay. Despite wins in both the 200 IM and 800 free relay, Unisanta doesn’t have the depth to compete for the top spot on the men’s side, though they’re not too far back in the combined race.
Unisanta holds a 62 point advantage on the women’s side after winning 3 of 4 events on day 2. Pinheiros sits 2nd with only two podium finishes on the day and Fiat/Minas sits well back but comfortable in the 3rd position.
Combined, Pinheiros holds the 59 point lead over Fiat/Minas, with Unisanta lurking 29 points back of them. Anything could still happen in the team race, especially given the large sum of points given to the top finishers in each event (individual win gets 35 points, relay win 70).
