Ricardo Prado (born 3 January 1965 in Andradina, São Paulo, Brazil) is an Olympic and former World Record holding medley swimmer from

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. He was one of the greatest swimmers in the history of Brazil and the best Brazilian swimmer in the 1980s.

International career

At just 14 years old, he participated at the

1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...

, in San Juan, where he finished seventh in the 400-metre individual medley, and eighth in the 200-metre individual medley. Prado participated in the 1980 Summer Olympics, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. He swam the 400-metre individual medley and the 100-metre backstroke, not reaching the final. On 8 August 1982, at the 1982 World Aquatics Championships in

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

, Prado won a gold medal in the 400-metre individual medley, with a time of 4:19.78, establishing a new

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

that stood until 23 May 1984. Prado was also in four other finals: placing fourth in the 200-metre butterfly (beating the South American record), and eighth in the 200-metre individual medley, the 200-metre backstroke, and the 4×100-metre medley. Prado had chances to earn a good result also in the 200-metre individual medley, but the conditions were adverse in Ecuador. "The hotel we stayed at was not well attended. It was directly across

rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

the Guayaquil bus station. I managed to reach the final of the 200-metre individual medley, but I was weak because food there was terrible, and finished the race in eighth place." Prado landed at home with gold on his neck but a big

mycosis Fungal infection, also known as mycosis, is disease caused by fungi. Different types are traditionally divided according to the part of the body affected; superficial, subcutaneous, and systemic. Superficial fungal infections include common ti ...

in his belly.

Djan Madruga Djan Garrido Madruga (born 7 December 1958 in Rio de Janeiro) is a former international freestyle swimmer and former South American record-holder from Brazil. His younger brother Roger Madruga, was also a professional swimmer. Early life At 6 ...

had worse luck: he contracted

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

. At the

1983 Summer Universiade The 1983 Summer Universiade, also known as the 1983 World University Games or XII Summer Universiade, took place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between July 1 and 12, 1983. Over 2400 athletes from 73 countries participated. It was the first time Can ...

, in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Prado won two bronze medals: in the 200-metre and 400-metre individual medley races. He also finished fourth in the 200-metre backstroke, and sixth in the 200-metre butterfly. Prado competed at the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to include relatively accurate steroid testing.Taylor, William N., ''Anabolic Steroids and the ...

, in Caracas, where he won two gold medals in the 200-metre and 400-metre individual medley (beating the Pan Am Games record). He also won two silver medals: in the 200-metre backstroke, and in the 200-metre butterfly (both beating the South American record). Prado won the silver medal in the men's 400-metre individual medley at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He also finished fourth in the 200-metre backstroke, 12th in the 4×100-metre medley, and 17th in the 200-metre individual medley and the 200-metre butterfly. Prado participated in the 1985 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, the first year of the competition, where he won the gold medal in the 400-metre individual medley, and the bronze medal in the 200-metre butterfly. He also finished fourth in the 200-metre backstroke. At the 1985 Summer Universiade, in Kobe, Prado won the gold medal in the 400-metre individual medley and the bronze medal in the 200-metre individual medley. He also finished fourth in the 200-metre backstroke and in the 200-metre butterfly. At the

1986 World Aquatics Championships The 1986 World Aquatics Championships took place in M86 Swimming Center in Madrid, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, Prado competed in the 200-metre individual medley final, finishing seventh. Although feeling the exhaustion of years of competition, Prado still swam at the 1987 Pan American Games, in Indianapolis, where he won a silver medal in the 200-metre backstroke, and two bronze medals in the 200-metre individual medley and the 4×100-metre medley. Prado began to decline after losing the gold in Los Angeles 1984 to

Alex Baumann Alexander Baumann, (born April 21, 1964) is a Canadian sports administrator and former competitive swimmer who won two gold medals and set two world records at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 2007, he was regarded by the national ...

. In 1987, Prado felt tired with his star status. During that year, he still swam well, earning medals in the Pan American Games, and spoke to journalists about training for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. In early 1988, Prado's positive diagnosis for hepatitis marked the inevitable. Prado said goodbye to competitive swimming after racing for 23 years.

Marks and records

In addition to beating the world record of the 400-metre individual medley, Prado held five South American individual records at the same time, at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas. At this competition, he broke Djan Madruga South American record in the 200-metre backstroke, with a time of 2:02.85. This record would not be broken until the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

by Rogério Romero, with a time of 2:02.26 in the heats. In Caracas, he also broke the South American record for the 200-metre butterfly, with a time of 1:59.00. This record was not beaten until 2003, 20 years later, by Kaio Almeida. Prado broke the South American record in the 400-metre individual medley at the

, with a time of 4:18.45. This record was only beaten 20 years later, in 2004 by Thiago Pereira. In the 200-metre individual medley, Prado broke the South American record in

Clovis, California Clovis is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. The 2020 population was 120,124. Clovis is located northeast of downtown Fresno, at an elevation of 361 feet (110 m). History The city of Clovis began as a freight stop along the ...

, in 1983, with a time of 2:04.10. This record lasted 20 years and was beaten in 2003 by Diogo Yabe.

After professional swimming

In 2003, at 38 years old, Prado suffered a heart attack, and later had an angioplasty procedure at a hospital in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas. Prado served as sports manager of the Organizing Committee of the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic C ...

in Rio de Janeiro. As of 2013, he works as sporting director of the

Maria Lenk Aquatic Center The Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre ( pt, Parque Aquático Maria Lenk) is an aquatics centre that is part of the City of Sports Complex in the Barra da Tijuca district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is part of the investments made by the city to host t ...

in Rio de Janeiro. Prado graduated with a Masters in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

and in

Physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

from

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

in Dallas, Texas. In addition to his work at the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, he currently works as a swimming coach team in Hebraica Club/Projeto Futuro. He is also a swimming commentator for the pay-TV channel

ESPN Brasil ESPN is the Brazilian division of ESPN Inc. Launched in March 1989 as Canal+, it was the first country-specific version of ESPN outside the United States, launched in June 1995. The channel has covered major sporting events, like the 1996, 2000, ...

References

External links

Gazeta Esportiva

YouTube heat 400 IM Olympic Games -80

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prado, Ricardo 1965 births Living people Brazilian male backstroke swimmers Brazilian male butterfly swimmers Brazilian male medley swimmers Swimmers at the 1979 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1983 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1987 Pan American Games Olympic swimmers for Brazil Olympic silver medalists for Brazil World record setters in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Pan American Games bronze medalists for Brazil Olympic silver medalists in swimming Pan American Games medalists in swimming Universiade medalists in swimming FISU World University Games gold medalists for Brazil Universiade bronze medalists for Brazil Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games SMU Mustangs men's swimmers People from Andradina

International career

Marks and records

After professional swimming

See also

References

External links