Marcelo Chierighini

1.1. Childhood and Introduction to Swimming

Marcelo Chierighini was born on January 15, 1991, in Itu, São Paulo, Brazil, as the second son of Augusto and Flavia Chierighini. Although he started swimming as a child, it was initially for physical activity rather than serious competition. His perspective changed after witnessing the success of Brazilian national swimmers at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. Inspired by their achievements, he developed a strong desire to represent his country in relays. Encouraged by his older brother, Felipe, who was a triathlete, Chierighini began to seriously pursue swimming at the age of 16. He moved from his hometown of Itu to São Paulo and started training under coach Felipe Domingues in January 2008.

1.2. University Career

Following the advice of fellow Brazilian swimmer César Cielo, Marcelo Chierighini enrolled at Auburn University in the United States after graduating from high school, where he trained under coach Brett Hawke. During his four years at Auburn, from 2011 to 2014, he distinguished himself as a student-athlete. He was selected as an All-American 22 times and became a two-time NCAA champion in relays (4x50 yd and 4x100 yd freestyle). Individually, he achieved runner-up finishes four times: once in the 50 yd freestyle and three times in the 100 yd freestyle. In the SEC championships, he claimed 14 titles across individual and relay events, including two individual titles (50 yd and 100 yd freestyle) and four relay titles (4x50 yd and 4x100 yd freestyle, and 4x50 yd and 4x100 yd medley). Chierighini was named the SEC Male Swimmer of the Year once, in 2013, and was selected for the All-SEC First Team three times (2011-2013). Academically, he pursued studies in business and public administration. He competed for Esporte Clube Pinheiros.

2.1. Early Career and Olympic Debut (2010-2012)

Chierighini made his international debut at the 2010 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Dubai in December 2010, approximately three years after beginning serious training. Competing in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay, he swam the third leg. Alongside Nicholas Santos, César Cielo, and Nicolas Oliveira, the team set a new South American record of 3:08.71 in the heats, surpassing Brazil's 1998 record of 3:10.45. In the final, the same quartet further improved their time to 3:05.74, securing a bronze medal, just 0.36 s ahead of the United States team, which included Nathan Adrian and Ryan Lochte. This marked Brazil's first medal in this event at the World Championships since 1994.

In July 2011, Chierighini made his long course World Championships debut at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, China. His sole event was the 4x100 metre freestyle relay, where the team finished 9th in the heats, missing the final by 0.93 s. Later that year, at the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, he earned a silver medal in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay. He also competed in the 50 metre freestyle, finishing 19th in the heats with a time of 23.33 s, and the 100 metre freestyle, finishing 9th in the heats with a time of 50.18 s.

Chierighini made his Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in July-August 2012, participating exclusively in relay events. In the 4x100 metre freestyle relay, he swam the fastest split for his team, 48.17 s, but Brazil finished 9th in the heats, missing the final by 0.36 s. In the 4x100 metre medley relay, he again recorded a strong split of 48.17 s on the fourth leg, the fifth fastest among all fourth leg swimmers in the heats, but the team finished 15th, 2.54 s short of a final spot.

2.2. Growth and Major Achievements (2013-2016)

In April 2013, at the Maria Lenk Trophy in Brazil, Chierighini recorded the year's seventh-best time in the 50 metre freestyle (21.88 s) and fourth-best in the 100 metre freestyle (48.11 s). At the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona in August, he reached his first long course World Championships final, finishing 7th in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay alongside Fernando Santos, Nicolas Oliveira, and Vinícius Waked. He recorded the fastest split among all fourth-leg swimmers, 47.56 s. In his individual World Championships debut, the 100 metre freestyle, he qualified for the final in 3rd place with a personal best-equalling time of 48.11 s. He finished 6th in the final with a time of 48.28 s, missing a medal by 0.44 s. In the 50 metre freestyle, he reached the semifinals, setting a new personal best of 21.84 s, but finished 10th, missing the final by 0.1 s due to the high level of competition. He also finished 12th in the 4x100 metre medley relay with Leonardo de Deus, Felipe Lima, and Nicholas Santos.

At the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, in August 2014, Chierighini won a bronze medal in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay with João de Lucca, Bruno Fratus, and Nicolas Oliveira. He swam the second leg, recording the fastest split for his team at 47.91 s. This marked Brazil's first relay medal at the Pan Pacific Championships. He also finished 4th in the 4x100 metre medley relay with Guilherme Guido, Felipe França, and Thiago Pereira, 8th in the 50 metre freestyle (22.46 s), and 9th in the 100 metre freestyle (winning the B final with 48.68 s).

Chierighini had a highly successful 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, in July. He won a bronze medal in the 100 metre freestyle with a time of 48.8 s, his first individual medal at a major international competition. Approximately one hour later, he secured a gold medal in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay, swimming the anchor leg with the fastest split of all competitors, 47.76 s, helping the team break the Pan American Games record with a time of 3:13.66. He also won another gold medal in the 4x100 metre medley relay, swimming the anchor leg in 47.61 s, the only sub-48 second split among the anchor swimmers. The team set a new Pan American Games record of 3:32.68, which was also Brazil's best time since the ban on high-tech swimsuits.

At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan in August, Chierighini finished 4th in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay with Matheus Santana, Bruno Fratus, and João de Lucca. He swam the first leg in 48.54 s. In the 100 metre freestyle, he achieved his best individual World Championships result, finishing 5th with a time of 48.27 s, improving on his semifinal time of 48.37 s. He also contributed to the mixed 4x100 metre freestyle relay, swimming the second leg in 48.43 s in the heats, helping Brazil qualify for the final in 7th place (Chierighini only swam in the heats). He finished 10th in the 4x100 metre medley relay heats with a split of 48.34 s.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Chierighini competed in three finals. In the 4x100 metre freestyle relay, he swam the first leg in 48.47 s, the second fastest among all first-leg swimmers in the heats, contributing to Brazil's first final appearance in this event since the 2000 Sydney Games. In the final, he swam his leg in 48.12 s, close to his personal best, and the team finished 5th. In the 100 metre freestyle, he qualified for the final in 8th place with 48.23 s, becoming only the fifth Brazilian swimmer to reach an Olympic final in this event. He finished 8th in the final with a time of 48.41 s. In the 4x100 metre medley relay, he swam the anchor leg in 47.72 s, the fastest among all anchor swimmers in the heats, helping Brazil reach the final for the first time in 36 years since the 1980 Moscow Games. In the final, he swam his leg in 48.5 s, and the team finished 6th.

2.3. Continued Success and Olympic Appearances (2017-2020)

At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest in July 2017, Chierighini was part of the Brazilian 4x100 metre freestyle relay team that achieved a historic silver medal. Swimming the second leg, he recorded a split of 46.85 s, which was the fastest split in the entire field and the third-fastest ever in a textile swimsuit at the time. The team, comprising Gabriel Santos, Chierighini, César Cielo, and Bruno Fratus, set a new South American record of 3:10.34, breaking the previous record set in 2009 during the super-suits era. This was Brazil's best-ever result in this event at the World Championships or Olympics. He also finished 5th in the 100 metre freestyle final, equalling his personal best of 48.11 s, and 5th in the 4x100 metre medley relay with Henrique Martins, João Gomes Júnior, and Guilherme Guido, setting a new Brazilian record for the post-high-tech swimsuit era with 3:31.53.

At the 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in August 2018, Chierighini won a gold medal in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay alongside Gabriel Santos, Marco Ferreira Júnior, and Pedro Spajari. He swam the second leg with the fastest split of 47.62 s. Initially, Brazil finished second to the United States, but the American team was disqualified for a swimming order error, elevating Brazil to gold. This was Brazil's first relay gold medal at the Pan Pacific Championships. He also finished 4th in the 100 metre freestyle (48.36 s), missing an individual medal by 0.14 s, and 8th in the 50 metre freestyle (22.5 s).

In December 2018, at the 2018 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Hangzhou, China, Chierighini, along with César Cielo, Matheus Santana, and Breno Correia, won a bronze medal in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay. The team set a new South American record of 3:05.15. He also finished 12th in the 100 metre freestyle (46.93 s).

On April 18, 2019, at the Maria Lenk Trophy competition in Rio de Janeiro, Chierighini set a new personal best in the 100 metre freestyle, clocking 47.68 s. This time ranked him third in the world at that point and became the fastest time by a South American in the textile swimsuit era, breaking César Cielo's previous record of 47.84 s set in 2011. He became the fifth Brazilian to break the 48-second barrier in the 100 metre freestyle.

At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, in July 2019, Chierighini aimed for an unprecedented individual medal in the 100 metre freestyle. He qualified 3rd in both the heats (47.95 s) and semifinals (47.76 s), marking his fourth consecutive final appearance in this event at the World Championships. In the final, he finished 5th with 47.93 s, missing the bronze medal by 0.11 s. In the 4x100 metre freestyle relay, he swam the first leg in 48.1 s, and the team finished 6th, securing Brazil's qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He also finished 6th in the 4x100 metre medley relay with a split of 47.29 s on the anchor leg, and 16th in the 50 metre freestyle (22.19 s).

At the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, in August 2019, Chierighini had an outstanding performance. He won the gold medal in the 100 metre freestyle, narrowly defeating Nathan Adrian by 0.08 s with a time of 48.09 s, securing his first individual major international title. He earned another gold medal in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay, swimming the second leg with the fastest split of all competitors, 47.45 s, helping the team break the Pan American Games record with a time of 3:12.61. Chierighini also won two silver medals: in the mixed 4x100 metre freestyle relay, where he swam the second leg in 47.61 s, the second fastest split behind Nathan Adrian's 47.56 s; and in the men's 4x100 metre medley relay, where he swam the anchor leg in 47.29 s, the fastest anchor split in the final, but the team took silver as the United States set a new Pan American Games record.

2.4. Recent Competitions (2021-Present)

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, held in July-August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Marcelo Chierighini participated in two relay events. In the 4x100 metre freestyle relay, he swam the anchor leg in 47.34 s in the heats, the fastest split for his team and the fourth fastest overall, contributing to Brazil's second consecutive Olympic final appearance in this event. In the final, he swam his leg in 47.72 s, and the team finished 8th. In the 4x100 metre medley relay, Brazil initially finished 7th in the heats with a time of 3:32.29, but was later disqualified due to an illegal exchange during the second leg.

At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Chierighini competed in the 100 metre freestyle, finishing 26th in the heats with a time of 48.97 s. He also swam the second leg of the 4x100 metre freestyle relay, helping the team to a 7th place finish in the final with a time of 3:12.21.

In July 2023, at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Chierighini competed in the 50 metre freestyle, finishing 28th in the heats with 22.26 s. He was also part of the 4x100 metre freestyle relay team that finished 6th in the final with 3:12.71, where he swam the first leg. In the 4x100 metre medley relay, the team was disqualified in the heats.

In October 2023, at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Chierighini continued his success in relays. He swam the second leg of the 4x100 metre freestyle relay with the fastest split of all competitors, 48 s, contributing to Brazil's gold medal. He also swam the second leg of the mixed 4x100 metre freestyle relay with a split of 47.59 s, the second fastest among all swimmers, helping Brazil win gold and break the Pan American Games record with 3:23.78, surpassing the 2019 Lima Games record set by the United States. Brazil secured both relay titles, defeating the United States by 0.71 s and 0.43 s respectively. In the 100 metre freestyle, he qualified 3rd in the heats with 48.64 s, but finished 5th in the final with 48.92 s, missing a consecutive title by 0.86 s and a third consecutive medal by 0.54 s. He also finished 8th in the 50 metre freestyle heats with 22.57 s.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, held in July-August 2024, Chierighini was the oldest swimmer on the Brazilian Olympic team at 33 years old. In the 4x100 metre freestyle relay, he swam the second leg with his team's fastest split of 48.21 s, but Brazil finished 10th in the heats, missing the final by 1.07 s. In the 100 metre freestyle, he made an uncharacteristic mistake at the start, jumping with his arms outstretched, and finished 35th in the heats with a time of 49.38 s, significantly slower than his season best of 48.41 s.

4.1. South American Records

Chierighini has been instrumental in setting multiple South American records, particularly in freestyle relay events.

4.2. Personal Best Times

His personal best times reflect his consistent performance at an elite level, with his 100m freestyle time being particularly notable in South American swimming history.

4.3. NCAA Championships

Marcelo Chierighini's performance at the NCAA Championships during his collegiate career at Auburn University. All records are for short course yards.

4.4. Major Competition Medals

Chierighini's career highlights include numerous medals at the highest levels of international swimming.