By Will Baxley on SwimSwam
SP Winter Swim Open
April 23-25, 2026 Clube Paneiras do Marumby, São Paulo, Brazil 50 meters (LCM) ResultsAt the age of 46, Brazilian Olympian and former world record holder Nicholas Santos made good on his promise to return to elite level competition. In his home state of São Paulo, Santos threw down a 23.63 50 fly, winning the state swim federation’s winter championships against some competitors who are nearly 1/3 of his age.
Santos, who has been making waves in masters swimming, announced his return to elite competition in February with LA 2028 aspirations. Santos was born in February of 1980, making him older than the last Olympic Games that were held in Los Angeles in 1984. Age is proving not much of a constraint for the 6x World Champion. We already knew this when he became the oldest swimming world champion in history in 2022, but this weekend was a reinforcement.
A 23-second 50 fly time is unprecedented for somebody Santos’ age. Before Santos, the master world record for 45-49 in the event stood at 24.96 by South African Marc Kevin Allan. By Santos’ standards, though, a 23.6 isn’t particularly notable, given that he went 23.15 last November to reset the masters world record. This swim does, however, mark the milestone of officially returning to national level competitive swimming. He will compete at the Maria Lenk Trophy, which doubles as Brazilian nationals, beginning on May 18.
In order to qualify for LA 2028 in a 50 stroke, one must either finish top six at the 2027 World Cup or be placed in the event by your team after qualifying in another event. As a frame of reference, the #6 50 fly performer in the world this year before championship season stands at 22.99.
Santos was not the only 2010s Brazilian world champion making a comeback this weekend. 2017 women’s 50 backstroke gold medalist Etiene Medeiros also made her return to the spotlight in São Paulo, winning the 50 backstroke in a new meet record of 28.46. Medeiros is 34 years old, now a mother, and had not competed since 2022. João Gomes Junior, a now-40-year-old multi-time World Championships medalist, won the 50 breaststroke in 27.54. Don’t call it a comeback, though, as he has been swimming consistently at national level meets throughout the decade.
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