World Champs Profile: Gui Caribe Ready to Ruffle the Global Sprint Hierarchy
Leading into the start of the World Championships later this month, Swimming World will publish a handful of short profiles on top contenders for the podium in Singapore. Our next entry in this series features Brazil’s Gui Caribe, a standout sprinter for the University of Tennessee.
Gui Caribe
Brazil
Events: 50 Freestyle/100 Freestyle
The Road to Singapore
Although a standout in the American collegiate system, Gui Caribe might not be as known as some of the other premier sprinters in the world. But Caribe put his skill on display at May’s Maria Lenk Trophy, where he sizzled to times of 21.46 in the 50 freestyle and 47.10 in the 100 freestyle. The time over the shorter distance ranks fourth in the world while Caribe heads to Worlds at No. 3 in the 100 freestyle rankings.
Caribe is also a factor in the 50 butterfly, where he has dipped under the 23-second barrier.
Top Career Achievement
At last December’s World Short Course Championships in Budapest, Caribe walked away with a pair of silver medals in sprint-freestyle competition. The University of Tennessee star clocked 20.57 to finish as the runnerup in the 50 freestyle to college teammate Jordan Crooks. He was also the second-place finisher in the 100 freestyle, where he went 45.47 for a South American record.
Previous World Champs Hardware
In the long-course pool, Caribe has not yet reached the podium, but his efforts at the Maria Lenk meet illustrate his dual prowess between the short-course pool and big tank. Caribe advanced to the semifinals of the 100 freestyle at last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, where he also contested the 50 freestyle.
Stat Fact
Caribe rounds out the top-10 performers in the history of the 100 freestyle, behind his 47.10 outing from earlier this year. That time makes Caribe the No. 2 South American of all-time, behind only fellow Brazilian Cesar Cielo, who sits third in history at 46.91. Caribe’s training is clearly paying off, as he has sliced nearly a second from his personal best in the past year.
World Champs Profiles
