Defying Age: 46-Year-Old Nicholas Santos Chasing Bid to 2028 Olympics in 50 Butterfly
At the 2008 Olympic Games, Dara Torres delivered one of the greatest performances of all-time when the 41-year-old captured the silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle. Eight years later, at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, 35-year-old Anthony Ervin won his second Olympic title in the 50 free. Could the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles provide its own example of an athlete defying age?
Nicholas Santos is hopeful.
Over the weekend, the 46-year-old Brazilian notched a third-place finish in the 50-meter butterfly while racing at the Barcelona leg of the Mare Nostrum Series. The sprint butterfly legend turned in a time of 23.31, a positive development in his retirement comeback and toward his plans of competing in LA28.
During his career, Santos has won nine medals in the 50 butterfly at the World Championships – four in the long-course pool and five in short-course competition. After securing the silver medal in the event at the 2022 World Champs in Budapest, Santos announced his retirement and bid farewell to competition. But earlier this year, Santos embarked on a comeback, the ultimate goal a berth to the 2028 Olympics, where the 50-meter stroke events will be contested for the first time.
How long has Santos been an international factor? His first medal on the global stage was earned at the 2004 edition of the World Short Course Championships. From there, he was a consistent presence for Brazil, representing his homeland at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. But with the 50 fly not on the Olympic program, he was denied the chance to showcase his premier skill set.
Santos owns a career best of 22.60 in the 50 fly, a time that was recorded at the 2019 Champions Swim Series. His performance from the Mare Nostrum meet was a solid start to his comeback, and breaking the 23-second barrier seems like a sensible next step. If nothing else, Santos deserves credit for chasing a similar storyline to Torres and Ervin, and his pursuit of another Olympic invitation will be engaging.
If Santos qualifies for the Olympics in Los Angeles at 48 years old, he would become the second-oldest male swimmer in history, trailing E.T. Jones, who competed in the 4000 freestyle (yes, that distance is correct) at the 1900 Olympics at 50 years, 100 days.
Note: Thanks to foremost Olympic expert Bill Mallon of Olympedia for providing the information about the oldest male swimmers in history.
