When Nicholas Santos of Brazil became the oldest swimmer to win a FINA World Championships medal in 2015, his record was measured in days.
By qualifying for the 2022 Worlds in Budapest, Hungary the 42-year-old could extend his record by years.
At the 2015 Worlds in Kazan, Russia Santos captured the silver medal in the men’s 50-meter butterfly at age 35 years and 171 days. He was nine days older than Mark Warnecke of Germany had been when he won the gold in the 50m breaststroke at Montreal in 2005.
Santos repeated as silver medalist in the 50m fly at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest with a time of 22.79 seconds at age 37.
Two years later, when the Brazilian Swimming Confederation decided to take only the swimmers of Olympic events to the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea — leaving out events including the 50m fly — FINA invited Santos to attend. He won the bronze to break his own record for oldest medalist at age 39.
With a world-leading time of 22.73 seconds on Tuesday night in Rio de Janeiro, Santos not only qualified for Budapest, he put the world on notice.
At the 2022 Brazil Swimming Trophy, Santos came close to his Brazilian and South American records of 22.60 seconds, which he swam in May 2019.
On the results page for the Brazilian swimming federation website, Santos is classed as a “Senior.” He’s actually old enough to be the father of some of his competitors.
Other swimmers have competed into their 40s. The legendary Mark Spitz retired from competition at age 22 after winning seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics and then attempted a comeback at age 41.
Filmmaker Bud Greenspan offered Spitz a million dollars if he succeeded in qualifying for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Spitz made the cover of Parade magazine and Sports Illustrated and Esquire wrote about his quest. However, Spitz came up about two seconds slower than the Olympic qualifying standard.
Dara Torres of the United States became the oldest Olympic swimming medalist at age 41 in 2008 with three silver medals, one in the 50m free and two on relays.
Santos could make 42 the new benchmark. His time in the Rio meet surpassed that of two swimmers now tied for second on the world list this season, which started September 1, 2021. Thomas Verhoeven of the Netherlands and Grigori Pekarski of Belarus clocked 23.22 seconds in different meets this week. They are both 24 — the same two digits as Santos, but reversed.
Santos also owns the record for oldest swimmer to win a world title by repeating as 50-meter butterfly short course champion in 2018 and 2020. He was 41 in December when he won in Abu Dhabi and celebrated his 42nd birthday on February 14.
Santos is co-holder of the 50 fly short course world record of 21.75.
While the Brazilian flyer is on course for the podium in Budapest, he will have to face Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel of the United States, who has a personal best of 22.35.
Santos is also an Olympian. He competed in the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics in the 50 free, placing 16th. He participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on the 4 × 100-meter free relay with Brazil, finishing ninth. Although Santos trained for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games, he did not qualify.
Santos qualified for his first Worlds way back in 2001, finishing 30th in the 50 free. As he aged, Santos said he focused on a healthy diet, including drinking rice milk.
He is known for his “electric” start and very good underwater turns, which is why he excels in short course meets.
In long course events, Santos won a gold medal in the 50 free at the 2007 World University Games and a silver at the 2010 Pan Pac Championships.
At the short course worlds, only Cesar Cielo has won more medals for Brazil.
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