The Benfica men’s team wrapped up the Nacional Open de Portugal with a bang, setting a new national record in the 4×100 medley relay. Tomás Januário, Rafael Mimoso, Diogo Ribeiro, and Gustavo Ribeiro combined for a time of 3:41.33, shaving off 1.61 seconds from the previous record set by their own team two years ago.
This relay was Diogo Ribeiro’s only team event of the championships. He had a remarkable meet, especially considering he’s been nursing a shoulder injury that kept him from training his arms for over a month. Ribeiro revealed to A BOLA that he was close to needing surgery, but his performance in the 100 butterfly on Friday, where he missed the World Championship qualifying time by just 0.02 seconds, showed his determination.
On the final day, Ribeiro dominated the 100 freestyle with a time of 48.65 seconds, earning him the top spot on the podium. His teammate Gustavo Ribeiro took silver with a time of 49.89 seconds, and Diogo Lebre from Algés secured bronze with a 50.50 seconds finish. Miguel Nascimento, an Olympian, also competed in the final but focused on getting a good time in the 50 freestyle, where he hopes to qualify for the World Championships.
Ribeiro already has the minimum qualifying times for the 50 freestyle and 50 butterfly events in Singapore, but he’s still looking to secure his spot in the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly. He’ll have another chance to improve his times at the Open in Ireland next week, where he’ll be joined by Nascimento and João Costa.
The Sporting team had a strong showing in the women’s relays, setting new national records in the 4×100 freestyle (3:51.11) and 4×200 freestyle (8:21.65). Individually, João Costa from V. Guimarães set a new record in the 50 backstroke with a time of 25.25 seconds, while Alexandre Amorim broke the record in the 50 breaststroke with a 28.03 seconds finish.