Bruno Fratus

He finished 5th in the final, with a time of 21.96 seconds.

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".

He also finished 25th in the 100 metre freestyle.

Bruno Giuseppe Fratus (born 30 June 1989 ) is a Brazilian competitive swimmer.

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.

He also finished 4th in the Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, along with Marcelo Chierighini, Matheus Santana and João de Lucca.

César Cielo did not swim the final – despite being participating in the championship, he was feeling shoulder pain on this day; and 6th in the 4 × 100 metre mixed freestyle relay, along with Matheus Santana, Larissa Oliveira and Daynara de Paula, breaking the South American record with a time of 3:25.58.

At the Open tournament held in Palhoça, Fratus broke his personal record in the 50-metre freestyle with a time of 21.37.

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.

At the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Fratus won three medals: the gold medal in the 4×100 metre freestyle and medley relays, and the silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle.

In April 2012, disputing the Maria Lenk Trophy in Rio de Janeiro, Fratus earned the mark of 21.70 seconds in 50 metre freestyle.

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.

In May 2013, Fratus underwent surgery to resolve an injury in his right shoulder, which lasted two years.

He is also the gold medalist in the 50 metre freestyle at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships and at the 2019 Pan American Games.

Fratus trains in Coral Springs, Florida at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.

In 2014, Fratus married Michelle Lenhardt, who is also an Olympian swimmer and now serves as one of his coaches.

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.

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.

At the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, Fratus won a bronze medal in the Brazilian 4×100 metre freestyle relay, along with João de Lucca, Marcelo Chierighini and Nicolas Oliveira.

The next day, he won the gold medal in the 50 metre freestyle, defeating Olympic champions Anthony Ervin and Nathan Adrian, breaking the Championship record, and beating his personal record with a time of 21.44.

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, and in the 50-metre freestyle, with a time of 21.41.

In the 50 metre freestyle, he won 3 medals in a row at the World Championships in 2015, 2017 and 2019 (2 silver and 1 bronze), in addition to having won silver in the 4×100 metre freestyle relay in 2017.

In April 2015, he competed in the Brazilian Long Course Championship (Maria Lenk Trophy) for Esporte Clube Pinheiros.

He had a time of 21.74 in the qualifying of the 50 metre freestyle, being by then the second-best mark in the 2015 world ranking.

He won the 50-metre freestyle final, beating César Cielo with the same time as the qualifying.

In July, Fratus competed in the Pan American Games, in Toronto.

He won the gold medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay, together with Matheus Santana, João de Lucca, and Marcelo Chierighini.

The team established a new Pan American Games record with a time of 3:13.66.

Fratus also won the silver medal in the 50 metre freestyle.

At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Fratus earned his first medal in World Championships in the Men's 50 metre freestyle, where he won the bronze, with a time of 21.55.

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.

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.

He won a bronze medal in the 50-metre freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

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.

He surpassed this mark by swimming his 100th sub-22 second 50 metre freestyle at the 19th World Aquatics Championships in June 2022.

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.

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.