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Trofeu Brasil: Luiz Gustavo Borges, Caio Pumputis Book Worlds Spots
Luiz Gustavo Borges and Caio Pumputis earned spots at the 2022 World Championships Saturday night, the American collegians winning events on the final night of Trofeu Brasil.
Borges, the former Michigan and Virginia Tech standout, got to the wall first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.00 seconds. Georgia Tech’s Pumputis booked passage by winning the 200 individual medley in 1:59.02. Both times are under the FINA A standards to secure automatic spots in Budapest.
The swims came on the final day of the week-long meet in Rio de Janeiro, part of Brazil’s selection process for Worlds.
After the drama provided by the 100 free, the 50 was surprisingly straightforward for Borges. He posted the second-quickest time in the morning prelims, then sped up to 22.00 at night to win by nearly two tenths.
Second was Luca Peixoto in 22.19, just .01 off the A standard. The top seed from prelims, Marcelo Chierighini, slid to fifth in 22.39. He had gone 22.26 to set the pace in prelims.
Felipe Messias finished third in 22.24. Victor Guimares Alcara took home fourth in 22.39.
In the men’s 200 IM, Brazil’s Tokyo Olympic duo again occupied the top two spots. Pumputis led the way in 1:59.02, well inside the A cut of 1:59.76. He had been second in prelims.
The prelims leader, Vini Lanza, just missed the auto cut by .03 with his 1:59.79. The front-half specialist was expectedly out first, at 55.56 at the halfway point, but Pumputis used a 34.01 breaststroke split to take a second off him and then held on down the stretch.
Third was Leonardo Santos in 2:00.10.
Borges finished the night with relay satisfaction, anchoring Minas Tenis Clube to a scintillating 400 medley relay win in 3:34.50. He held off Pinheiros by .17 seconds, splitting 48.20 off the end. He teamed with Gabriel Fantoni, Felipe Franca Silva and Lanza on the win.
Borges held off Gabriel Santos on the end. The Pinheiros foursome started with Guilherme Guido, Joao Gomes Junior and Kayky Mota.
Guilherme da Costa won the men’s 1,500 meters with ease, clocking in at 15:06.91. His margin of victory over Stephan Steverink was nearly eight seconds. Da Costa is just outside the 15:04.64 auto cut.
On the women’s side, Lorrane Ferreira book a Budapest berth in the 50 free. She was quickest in prelims at 25.27, then went 25.04 in final to win and hit the A standard bang on. The 29-year-old was followed to the wall by 29-year-old Graciele Herrmann in 25.30.
Third in both events Saturday was Stephanie Balduccini, wrapping up a massively busy week for the 17-year-old from Sao Paulo. She went 25.40 in the 50 free, then clocked in at 2:16.62 in the 200 IM.
That time was nearly two seconds off the pace set by Nathalia Almeida, who won in 2:14.74. That’s shy of the 2:12.98 auto standard. Gabrielle Goncalves was second in 2:15.87. Florencia Perotti, the top seed in prelims, dropped to fourth in finals in 2:16.69.
