Two-time Brazilian Olympic swimmer Larissa Oliveira has announced her retirement from competitive swimming. The 29-year-old represented her country at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.
Oliveira was one of the best female swimmers of her generation in Brazil in an era that only had a handful of women who could compete on the global stage. She won a total of 10 Pan American Games medals between the 2015 and 2019 events, including gold in 2019 as part of Brazil’s mixed 400 medley relay.
She also won three mixed-relay medals at the World Short Course Championships in 2014 and 2016.
Oliveira retires with 12 Brazilian and 10 South American Records, more than any other woman on the current record-books.
Oliveira’s Olympic Finishes:
- Tokyo 2020 – 100 free, 30th place, 55.53
- Tokyo 2020 – 400 free relay, 12th place, 3:39.19
- Tokyo 2020 – 800 free relay, 10th place, 7:59.50
- Rio 2016 – 100 free, 21st place, 54.72
- Rio 2016 – 200 free, 35th place, 2:00.76
- Rio 2016 – 400 free relay, 11th place, 3:39.40
- Rio 2016, 800 free relay, 11th place – 7:55.68
- Rio 2016, 400 medley relay, 13th place – 4:02.83
Oliveira’s Individual South American Records:
- 100 LCM Free – 54.03, 2016 Maria Lenk Trophy
- 100 SCM Free – 52.45, 2018 Jose Finkel Trophy
- 200 SCM Free – 1:54.50, 2018 Jose Finkel Trophy
All of her success came in spite of a gruesome mid-career injury that left her sidelined for months in 2017. In March of that year, a large tree branch fell and landed on her car, which punctured her right thigh and required her to have surgery.
Oliveira ended her career representing the mega multi-sport club Flamengo. She also represented the Toronto Titans in the 2021 season of the International Swimming League, and Aqua Centurions in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. While she didn’t score any net points in the 2021 season, in 2020 she scored 27 points across four matches (6.75 points/match).
Man I was really hoping for a third Olympics from her. Congrats on an amazing career!