Bruno Giuseppe Fratus (born 30 June 1989) is a Brazilian former competitive

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. He won a bronze medal in the 50-metre freestyle at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo. In July 2021, Fratus became the first swimmer in history to swim the

long course An Olympic-size swimming pool is a swimming pool which conforms to the regulations for length, breadth, and depth made by World Aquatics (formerly FINA) for swimming at the Summer Olympics and the swimming events at the World Aquatics Champion ...

50 metre freestyle race in less than 22 seconds 90 times. He surpassed this mark by swimming his 100th sub-22 second 50 metre freestyle at the 19th World Aquatics Championships in June 2022. In the 50 metre freestyle, he won 3 medals in a row at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

(2 silver and 1 bronze), in addition to having won silver in the 4×100 metre freestyle relay in

. He is also the gold medalist in the 50 metre freestyle at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships and at the

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games (), officially the XVIII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Lima 2019, were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization held in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019, with preliminar ...

International career

2010–12

At the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, California, United States, Fratus made his first major involvement in an international tournament, finishing 4th in 50 metre freestyle, with a time of 21.93 seconds. He also finished 25th in the 100 metre freestyle. In the

2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Aquatics Championships, FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming ...

held in Shanghai, China, Fratus made the fastest time in the semifinals of the 50 metre freestyle: 21.76 seconds. He finished 5th in the final, with a time of 21.96 seconds. At the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

in Guadalajara, Fratus won three medals: the gold medal in the 4×100 metre freestyle and medley relays, and the silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle. In April 2012, disputing the Maria Lenk Trophy in Rio de Janeiro, Fratus earned the mark of 21.70 seconds in 50 metre freestyle.

2012 Summer Olympics

At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Fratus reached the final of the 50 metre freestyle where he earned a fourth-place finish with a time of 21.61 seconds, touching the wall just 0.02 seconds after

César Cielo César Augusto Cielo Filho (, born 10 January 1987) is a Brazilian former competitive swimmer who specialized in sprint events. He is the most successful Brazilian swimmer in history, having obtained three Olympic medals, winning six individu ...

, who won the bronze medal with a time of 21.59 seconds.

2013–16

In May 2013, Fratus underwent surgery to resolve an injury in his right shoulder, which lasted two years. Fratus won a gold medal at the 2014

South American Games The South American Games (also known as ODESUR Games; Spanish: ''Juegos Suramericanos''; Portuguese: ''Jogos Sul-Americanos''), formerly the Southern Cross Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Cruz del Sur'') is a regional multi-sport event held between nat ...

. In the men's 50 metre freestyle, he broke the competition record with a time of 22.12 in the heats. At the 2014 Maria Lenk Trophy, in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, he won a silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle with a time of 21.45, losing only to Cielo, who won with a time of 21.39. At the

2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, also known as the 2014 Hancock Prospecting Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, from 21 to 25 August 2014. Qualifying c ...

in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, Fratus won a bronze medal in the Brazilian 4×100 metre freestyle relay, along with

João de Lucca João Bevilaqua de Lucca (born 6 January 1990 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian swimmer. He won the silver medal in the 4×200-metre freestyle at the 2006 FINA Youth World Swimming Championships in Rio de Janeiro, and the bronze medal in the ...

, Marcelo Chierighini and Nicolas Oliveira. The next day, he won the gold medal in the 50 metre freestyle, defeating Olympic champions Anthony Ervin and

Nathan Adrian Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event. In his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer ...

, breaking the Championship record, and beating his personal record with a time of 21.44. In December 2014, at the Brazilian Open, in Rio de Janeiro, he swam lifetime best in the 100 metre freestyle, with a time of 48.57, and in the 50-metre freestyle, with a time of 21.41. In April 2015, he competed in the Brazilian Long Course Championship (Maria Lenk Trophy) for

Esporte Clube Pinheiros The Esporte Clube Pinheiros, founded on 7 September 1899, by German immigrants, under the name Sport Club Germânia (Sport Club Germany), is a multi-sports and social club located in the Brazilian metropolis São Paulo. The full name of the cl ...

. He had a time of 21.74 in the qualifying of the 50 metre freestyle, being by then the second-best mark in the 2015 world ranking. He won the 50-metre freestyle final, beating

with the same time as the qualifying. In July, Fratus competed in the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

, in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He won the gold medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay, together with Matheus Santana,

, and Marcelo Chierighini. The team established a new Pan American Games record with a time of 3:13.66. Fratus also won the silver medal in the 50 metre freestyle. At the

2015 World Aquatics Championships The 16th FINA World Aquatics Championships, FINA World Championships (), also Aquatics 2015, were held in Kazan, Russia from 24 July to 9 August 2015. Russia hosted this event for the first time. The number of participating national teams (190), ...

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

, Fratus earned his first medal in World Championships in the Men's 50 metre freestyle, where he won the bronze, with a time of 21.55. He also finished 4th in the Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, along with Marcelo Chierighini, Matheus Santana and

. César Cielo did not swim the final – despite being participating in the championship, he was feeling shoulder pain on this day; and 6th in the 4 × 100 metre mixed freestyle relay, along with Matheus Santana,

Larissa Oliveira Larissa Martins de Oliveira (born 16 February 1993) is a Brazilian former freestyle swimmer. International career 2012–16 At the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Istanbul, she finished 6th in the 4×100-metre freestyle final ...

and Daynara de Paula, breaking the South American record with a time of 3:25.58. At the Open tournament held in Palhoça, Fratus broke his personal record in the 50-metre freestyle with a time of 21.37.

2016 Summer Olympics

At the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, Fratus arrived as one of the favorites to win a medal in the Men's 50 metre freestyle. He qualified for the final, but he only finished in 6th place with a time of 21.79. In an interview, he said: "For some reason, I'm not able to swim faster than that. I have no idea what is happening. This year has been very bad. I have to review the program". Before the Games, Fratus was suffering from chronic back pain. The Brazilian Aquatic Sports Confederation (CBDA) even sent a physiotherapist to the United States, where Fratus lives and trains to accompany the athlete.

2017–19

At the

2017 World Aquatics Championships The 17th FINA World Championships () were held in Budapest, Hungary from 14 to 30 July 2017.

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, in the Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, the Brazilian team composed of Fratus,

, Marcelo Chierighini and Gabriel Santos achieved a historic result by winning the silver medal, the best Brazilian result of all time at World Championships in this race. Brazil beat the South American record of 2009, still in the super-suits era, with a time of 3:10.34, finishing 0.28 seconds after the gold-medal-winning team. The last medal of Brazil in this race, in Worlds, was obtained in 1994. In the Men's 50 metre freestyle, Fratus made the best time of his life in the race, 21.27, thus winning the silver medal. Fratus beat the best time of César Cielo in this race without the super-suits (21.32). He also helped Brazil's 4 × 100 metre medley relay to go to the final, swimming at heats. He registered his 59th and 60th sub-22 second long course 50-meter freestyles on 17 June 2018 at the Mare Nostrum Tour, passing country-mate and Olympic gold medalist Cesar Cielo as the most frequent 21-second sprinter in history. In September 2018, Fratus underwent surgery to correct a partial rupture of the subscapularis tendon of the shoulder, missing out on important competitions. Fratus only managed to re-train in good condition in February 2019. In April, managed to do the best time in the world in the 50m freestyle: 21.47. He won countless golds in the preparatory events in Europe and reached the World Championship with the three best times in the world at the moment: 21.31 (Mare Nostrum Monaco), 21.42 (Sette Colli) and 21.47. At the

2019 World Aquatics Championships The 2019 World Aquatics Championships were the 18th FINA World Aquatics Championships, held in Gwangju, South Korea from 12 to 28 July 2019. The city had previously hosted the 2015 Summer Universiade aquatics events in the same venues.

Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, Fratus won the silver medal in the Men's 50 metre freestyle for the second time in a row, with a time of 21.45, losing only to

Caeleb Dressel Caeleb Remel Dressel (born August 16, 1996) is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events. He swims representing the Cali Condors as part of the International Swimming League. He won ...

. In the Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, he finished 6th, helping Brazil qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. At the

held in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, Fratus won the gold medal in the Men's 50 metre freestyle, defeating

, with a time of 21.61. He won another gold in the Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, breaking the Pan American Games record.

2020 Summer Olympics

At the

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, Fratus qualified for his third Olympic final in the men's 50 metre freestyle with a time of 21.60 in the semifinals on 31 July 2021. This semifinal swim of 21.60 marked his 90th time swimming the 50 metre freestyle in less than 22 seconds, making him the first swimmer in history to do so.Penland, Spencer (30 July 2021)
"Tokyo 2020, South America Recap Day 7: Fratus Posts 90th Career Sub-22 LCN 50 FR"
''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012. History The news organization was founded by Braden Keith, Garrett ...

''. Retrieved 1 August 2021. In the final on 1 August, Fratus won the bronze medal at the age of 32 with a time of 21.57 seconds, finishing just 0.02 seconds after silver medalist

Florent Manaudou ] Florent Manaudou (; born 12 November 1990) is a French competitive swimming (sport), swimmer, an Olympic champion of the 50-meter freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics, and the younger brother of Laure Manaudou, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

who touched the wall at 21.55 seconds. Omega Timing;

Atos Atos SE is a European multinational information technology (IT) service and consulting company with headquarters in Bezons suburb of Paris, France, and offices worldwide. It specialises in hi-tech transactional services, unified communicat ...

(1 August 2021)
"Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Swimming Results Book"
. ''

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

''. Retrieved 8 January 2022. It was the fourth medal for Brazil in the history of the 50 metre freestyle at the Olympic Games. Fratus became the oldest pool swimmer in history to win their first Olympic medal. Fratus showing his joy for winning his first Olympic medal after debuting at the Olympic Games nine years earlier was highlighted by

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

as one of the joyful emotional moments of the 2020 Summer Olympics.Sheldrick, Aaron (1 August 2021)
"Swimming-Pool a hotbed of emotion as under-pressure stars unload"
''

''. Retrieved 8 January 2022.

Personal life

Fratus trains in

Coral Springs, Florida Coral Springs is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 134,394. Approximately northwest of Fort Lauderdale, it is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area in South ...

at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.Boggiano, Bryan (9 October 2021)
"Olympian Bruno Fratus Receives Key To The City"
''Coral Springs Talk''. Retrieved 8 January 2022. Before 2019, Fratus trained under the guidance of coach Brett Hawke, and in 2019 Fratus switched coaches from Brett Hawke to Michelle Lenhardt, who continues to serve as his coach.Ross, Andy (21 May 2020)
"Bruno Fratus Returns to Training: "Just To Be Back in the Pool, It's Already Something""
''

Swimming World } ''Swimming World'' is a US-based quarterly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'' (kn ...

''. Retrieved 9 January 2022.Anderson, Jared (6 November 2019)
"Bruno Fratus No Longer Training With Hawke, Will Train With Wife Lenhardt"
''

''. Retrieved 9 January 2022. In 2014, Fratus married Michelle Lenhardt, who is also an Olympian swimmer and now serves as one of his coaches. Shortly after winning the bronze medal in the 50 metre freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Fratus' celebration went viral. It was nearly identical to the "Bronze Medal" meme that first emerged in 2020, with the coincidences catching the eye of many on social media. It is not known if Fratus was initially aware of the meme, telling Portugal's

SPORT TV Sport TV is a Portuguese sports-oriented premium cable and satellite television network with seven premium channels in Portugal, one sports news channel and one channel in Portuguese-speaking Africa. The first channel, then only known as Sport ...

that his emotions were honest and he did not fake anything.

International championships

: Fratus swam only in the preliminaries.

Career best times

Long course metres (50 m pool)

Short course metres (25 m pool)

Awards and honours

* Fratus was the recipient of the Key to the City of

in October 2021. * ''

'' Swammy Award, South American Swimmer of the Year (male): 2021Penland, Spencer (4 January 2022)
"2021 Swammy Awards: South American Male Swimmer of the Year, Bruno Fratus"
''

''. Retrieved 4 January 2022. * ''

'' Top 100 (Men's): 2021 (#39),Keith, Braden (2 February 2021)
"SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2021: Men's #40 — #31"
''

''. Retrieved 11 October 2021. 2022 (#76)Sutherland, James (6 January 2022)
"SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2022: Men's #100-76"
''

''. Retrieved 6 January 2022.

References

External links