Ricardo Perlingeiro Mendes da Silva (58, Brazil, MSF bio here) set another record in his prolific breaststroking marathon career.
Mendes focuses on breaststroke marathon swims – very different from his competitive swimming youth as a 50-meter sprint breaststroke specialist.
From the outset of his swimming career, breaststroke was his natural and preferred style. “I never felt fully comfortable swimming other strokes, particularly freestyle. However, the dominance of freestyle in competitive training environments, combined with a lack of coaching support on a breaststroke-focused development, eventually led me to withdraw from swimming at the age of ten. For the next four decades, I remained largely sedentary, engaging only occasionally in strength training and walking, which gradually resulted in weight gain and other health issues.”
In September 2023, he undertook an open water swim in the Rio Negro, in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, as part of the Amazon Challenge 30K from Iranduba to Manaus in Brazil, partly along the Rio Negro Bridge in the Rio Negro. He completed 15.5 km between Praia do Açutuba and near Paricatuba, swimming breaststroke, before discontinuing the attempt.
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