Guido triumphed at the ISL grand finale in Las Vegas. He won the men’s 50 meter backstroke, with a time of 22.77 seconds, and the men’s 100 meter backstroke race with a time of 49.50 seconds. “That was amazing,” he admitted. “I really enjoyed it.”
For him, competing for London Roar was a “really nice” experience. “I like the European swimmers such as Adam Peaty and Duncan Scott,” he said, prior to praising head coach Mel Marshall. “The way Mel was pushing the team was incredible. I learned a lot from them,” he said.
Guido loves the ISL since it promotes the sport of swimming unlike anything else, and he hopes that the sport will be more popular on a regular basis as opposed to only popular every four years at the Olympics for two weeks.
Earlier this ISL season, Guido set the second-fastest time (22.55 seconds) in the history of the men’s 50 meter backstroke, which was both a Brazilian and South American record.
He listed the backstroke as his personal favorite stroke in the sport. He shared that he is excited for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and after being away on vacation with his family for a few weeks, today was his first day of training for the New Year.
Each day, Guido is motivated by his drive and ambition. “I like to exercise and I feel more comfortable inside the water. I like to live a healthy life. I like routines such as waking up in the morning and training. I chose this life,” he said. “While I like all the sports, I have always preferred swimming,” he admitted.
For his own recovery, Guido uses NormaTec and Game Ready, the latter of which offers hot and cold compression therapy systems for recovery purposes.
Guido had nothing but the kindest remarks about fellow Brazilian swimmer Marcelo Chierighini. “Marcelo is nice. We train together here in São Paulo. He came here eight years ago, so it has been a long time,” he said.
He noted that he is a fan of Aaron Peirsol and his technique, and he used to watch videos of his swimming technique in 3-D. “When I started competing, Aaron Peirsol was almost finishing his swimming career,” he said.
The Brazilian backstroke king is also extremely proud of the success of his Swim & Health swimming school. “The school is going really good and I am really enjoying it,” he admitted. “My goal is to have 500 swim schools and more than one million kids doing the program. That’s the goal.”
For more information on the Swim & Health school, check out its official homepage and its Facebook page.
His advice for young and aspiring swimmers is to “think positive.” “The program has four concepts, which were derived from famous psychologists such as Vygotsky and Piaget,” he said. “I have a psychologist and physical educators with me in the program. The kids need to think positive, and to learn more about their bodies and to eat healthy. Also, the feelings of happiness and curiosity are key,” he added.
Guido defined the word success as “being recognized for what you have done.” “You are successful when you do something good,” he said. For his fans, Guido said, “Thank you for cheering me on and for following my career.”
For more information on Guilherme Guido, follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
