Bruno Giuseppe Fratus (born 30 June 1989[3]) is a Brazilian competitive swimmer. He won a bronze medal in the 50-metre freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[4] In July 2021, Fratus became the first swimmer in history to swim the long course 50 metre freestyle race in less than 22 seconds 90 times.[5] He surpassed this mark by swimming his 100th sub-22 second 50 metre freestyle at the 19th World Aquatics Championships in June 2022.[6]
Fratus trains in Coral Springs, Florida at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.[7] 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.[1][2]
In 2014, Fratus married Michelle Lenhardt, who is also an Olympian swimmer and now serves as one of his coaches.[8][9]
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.[10] It is not known if Fratus was initially aware of the meme, telling Portugal's SPORT TV that his emotions were honest and he did not fake anything.[11]
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.[12] He also finished 25th in the 100 metre freestyle.[13]
In the 2011 World Aquatics Championships 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.[14] At the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Fratus won three medals: the gold medal in the 4×100 metre freestyle and medley relays,[15][16][17] and the silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle.[18]
In April 2012, disputing the Maria Lenk Trophy in Rio de Janeiro, Fratus earned the mark of 21.70 seconds in 50 metre freestyle.[19]
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, 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, who won the bronze medal with a time of 21.59 seconds.[20]
2013–16
In May 2013, Fratus underwent surgery to resolve an injury in his right shoulder, which lasted two years.[21]
Fratus won a gold medal at the 2014 South American Games. In the men's 50 metre freestyle, he broke the competition record with a time of 22.12 in the heats.[22][23] At the 2014 Maria Lenk Trophy, in São Paulo, 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.[24]
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,[27] and in the 50-metre freestyle, with a time of 21.41.[28]
At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 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.[43]
2017–19
At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, in the Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, the Brazilian team composed of Fratus, César Cielo, 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.[44][45][46] 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).[47] He also helped Brazil's 4 × 100 metre medley relay to go to the final, swimming at heats.[48] 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.[49]
In September 2018, Fratus underwent surgery to correct a partial rupture of the subscapularis tendon of the shoulder, missing out on important competitions.[50]
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.[51] 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.[52]
At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, 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.[57] 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.[5] 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 of France who touched the wall at 21.55 seconds.[58] It was the fourth medal for Brazil in the history of the 50 metre freestyle at the Olympic Games.[59] Fratus became the oldest pool swimmer in history to win their first Olympic medal.[60] Fratus showing his joy for winning his first Olympic medal after debuting at the Olympic Games nine years earlier was highlighted by Reuters as one of the joyful emotional moments of the 2020 Summer Olympics.[61]
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