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Bruno FRATUS
Sport Swimming
NOC Brazil   
GenderMen
Born30 Jun 1989 in Macaé, BRA
Height1.87 m
 Human Interest 
Further Personal Information
Residence
Coral Springs, FL, USA
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team
Minas Tenis Clube: Brazil
Name of coach
Brett Hawke [personal], AUS; Michelle Lenhardt [wife], BRA
When and where did you begin this sport?
He took up the sport in Macae, Brazil. He began swimming competitively at age 11.
Further Personal Information
Languages
English, Portuguese
General Interest
Injuries
He was not selected to compete at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, Japan, due to inflamed tendons in his left shoulder. The injury kept him out of the pool for four weeks. He had surgery on the shoulder in September 2018 and returned to competition in March 2019. (swimswam.com, 23 Sep 2018; globoesporte.globo.com, 16 Jul 2018; sportv.globo.com, 24 Sep 2018; olharolimpico.blogosfera.uol.com.br, 21 Apr 2019)

In February 2016 he sustained a back injury, which affected his training during the lead-up to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (swimchannel.blogosfera.uol.com.br, 01 Jun 2017)

He suffered an injury in his right shoulder in March 2013 while training in Italy and had to return to Brazil. He had a shoulder operation which kept him out of action until the end of 2013. (globoesporte.globo.com, 08 Apr 2013; bestswimming.com, 05 Mar 2014; sportv.globo.com, 24 Sep 2018)
Further Personal Information
Occupation
Athlete
General Interest
Hero / Idol
Brazilian swimmers Gustavo Borges and Fernando Scherer, Australian swimmer Brett Hawke. (cob.org.br, 30 Jun 2017)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"A person who wants to do something will go and do it. A person who doesn't want to do something will find excuses." (cob.org.br, 30 Jun 2017)
Memorable sporting achievement
Winning a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (rededoesporte.gov.br, 01 Aug 2021)
Famous relatives
His wife Michelle Lenhardt has also represented Brazil in swimming, and competed at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. (sportv.globo.com, 10 Apr 2018)
Other information
NEW APPROACH
In late-2017 he left his long-time training base at Auburn University in Alabama, United States of America. He moved alongside his wife, Brazilian swimmer and coach Michelle Lenhardt, to Coral Springs, Florida, citing the need to refresh his mind and reaffirm his goals. "After almost four unbelievable years, training and living in Auburn, I decided it was time to shake things up a little bit. I went backwards in 2014 and 2015, and 2016, the year that counted the most, was not very nice. Now I want to do things a little bit different. I do not want to train so much every day, but to have a light preparation in order to have a fresher mind for the next two years." In 2020 he says his wife's support was important. "Michelle was awesome, she was everything I needed. Very few remedies have the effects of love. When you have love in your life, from your wife, your parents, your friends, life becomes a little bit easier. And with that love empathy comes around, and with empathy comes dialogue, and all of those tools help you overcome difficulties in life." (globoesporte.globo.com, 18 Apr 2018; sportv.globo.com, 10 Apr 2018; swimswam.com, 21 Nov 2017; uol.com.br, 03 Jul 2020)

OLYMPIC DISAPPOINTMENT
He contemplated quitting the sport after finishing sixth in the 50m freestyle at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "I did not want to see a pool anymore. I thought about getting a normal job." He was affected by depression and in just a few months he gain 12 kilogramme. "I ate more than I should I didn't want to train and not getting out of home." He says that the support he had from his wife Michelle and his then-coach Brett Hawke was important in his decision to continue swimming. "They were Olympic athletes, they knew how I was feeling." He returned to competition in December 2016. (swimchannel.blogosfera.uol.com.br, 01 Jun 2017; uol.com.br, 03 Jul 2020)

RIVALRY WITH CESAR CIELO
He says having had fellow Brazilian swimmer and Olympic champion Cesar Cielo as a rival was one of the best things in his career. "I had the chance to be by the side of an Olympic champion and world record holder at every national championship. That pulls you up to a higher level that no other swimmer could do. I sometimes trained alongside him and I thought it was me who was in that lane, that day, having the chance to train next to the world record holder. There were very few things better that swimming a Brazilian championship alongside Cielo. It was a big competition. You didn't need to spare anything, you had to be much better than everybody to beat that guy." (uol.com.br, 03 Jul 2020)
Further Personal Information
Family
Wife Michelle
General Interest
Ambitions
To become an Olympic champion. (minastenisclube.com.br, 24 Apr 2019)
Hobbies
Cooking. (uol.com.br, 01 Aug 2021)
Awards and honours
He was named 2021 South American Male Swimmer of the Year by the swimming news website SwimSwam. (swimswam.com, 22 Dec 2021)

In 2021 he was a recipient of the key to the city of Coral Springs, FL, United States of America. (Instagram profile, 07 Oct 2021)

 Competition Highlights
Olympic Games
Rank Year Venue Event Result
3 2021 Tokyo, JPN 50m Freestyle 21.57
6 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 50m Freestyle 21.79
4 2012 London, ENG 50m Freestyle 21.61 
Heats 2012 London, ENG 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay  
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
Semifinal 2022 Budapest, HUN 50m Freestyle 21.83
2 2019 Gwangju, KOR 50m Freestyle 21.45
6 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:11.99
2 2017 Budapest, HUN 50m Freestyle 21.27
2 2017 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:10.34
5 2017 Budapest, HUN 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
3 2015 Kazan, RUS 50m Freestyle 21.55
4 2015 Kazan, RUS 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:13.22
6 2015 Kazan, RUS 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:25.58
Heat 2011 Shanghai, CHN 100m Freestyle 49.23
5 2011 Shanghai, CHN 50m Freestyle 21.96
Heat 2011 Shanghai, CHN 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay  
Heat 2011 Shanghai, CHN 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
Pan American Games
Rank Year Venue Event Result
1 2019 Lima, PER 50m Freestyle 21.61
Final 2019 Lima, PER 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:12.61
2 2011 Guadalajara, MEX 50m Freestyle 22.05
1 2011 Guadalajara, MEX 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:14.65