Brazilian swimmer Beatriz Dizotti made history on Tuesday morning by becoming the first South American woman to qualify for the Olympic final in the women’s 1500 freestyle, finishing 7th with a time of 16:05.40.
Dizotti’s achievement is particularly notable because she is the first South American swimmer—man or woman—to reach the 1500 free final since 1976, when Brazil’s Djan Madruga placed 4th at the Montreal Olympics with a time of 15:19.84. This year marks the second time the event has been included for women in the Olympics, following its debut in Tokyo 2021.
Dizotti is also the seventh Brazilian swimmer to reach an Olympic final in any event, according to the Brazilian Confederation of Aquatic Sports (CBDA). Despite her historic qualification, she expressed mixed feelings about her performance, noting that her Brazilian record stands at 16:01.95 from the previous year’s World Championships, where she finished 7th.
“I am happy with the result but not fully satisfied with my time,” Dizotti said. “Today was not the perfect race yet. I am ready to improve my time in the final and am very pleased to have achieved this feat. In Tokyo, I wouldn’t have made the final with this time, but today I made history in Brazilian swimming.”
Dizotti, who is the third-fastest South American woman ever in this event, aims to join Argentina’s Delfina Pignatiello and Chile’s Kristel Kobrich as the third South American woman to break the 16-minute barrier in the 1500 free. Kobrich, competing in her sixth Olympics, finished 14th in the event with a time of 16:27.18, matching her placement from Tokyo.
In other South American swimming news on the fourth day of competition in Paris, Brazilian sprinter Gui Caribe qualified 12th in the men’s 100 freestyle prelims with a time of 48.35. In the semifinals, he placed 10th with a time of 48.03, just missing the final by a narrow margin. Caribe has previously swum faster, with a best time of 47.82 in 2022.
Louisville graduate Nick Albiero nearly made the semifinals in the men’s 200 butterfly, finishing 18th with a time of 1:56.49, just shy of the cutoff time of 1:56.03.
The Brazilian men’s 4×200 freestyle relay team, consisting of Murilo Sartori, Fernando Scheffer, Eduardo Oliveira de Moraes, and Guilherme Costa, placed 12th in the prelims with a time of 7:10.26, falling short of the final cutoff time of 7:08.43.
Image Courtesy :- Jack Spitser/Spitser Photography
