| Diogo Ribeiro | |
| Fullname: | Diogo Matos Ribeiro |
| Nationality: | Portuguese |
| Strokes: | Butterfly, freestyle |
| Club: | Benfica |
| Coach: | André Vaz |
| Birth Date: | 27 October 2004 |
| Birth Place: | Coimbra, Portugal |
| Height: | 184 cm |
| Weight: | 67 kg |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Diogo Matos Ribeiro (pronounced as /pt/; born 27 October 2004) is a Portuguese competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle and butterfly events.[1] [2] He represents S.L. Benfica at the club level.
Ribeiro rose to prominence in Portuguese and world swimming after winning three gold medals and establishing a new junior world record in the long course 50-metre butterfly event at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Lima, Peru.[3] The following year, competing in his first senior-level World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, he claimed a silver medal in the 50 metres butterfly with a national record time to become the first Portuguese swimmer to win a World Championship medal. Ribeiro's biggest achievement came at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, where he won the 50-metre and 100-metre butterfly events and secured the first World Championship gold medals for Portuguese swimming at senior level.[4]
In his hometown of Coimbra, he was a swimmer for the Beatriz Santos Foundation (FBS), the Clube Náutico Académico (CNAC) and União 1919.[5] Diogo Ribeiro joined Lisbon-based S.L. Benfica in October 2021, renewing in 2022, in a contract that included the current Olympic cycle and the next one.[6]
Ribeiro won the gold medal in the 50-metre butterfly event at the 2022 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Lima, Peru with a Championships and Portuguese record time of 22.96 seconds, which was 0.09 seconds faster than the former world junior record of 23.05 seconds set by Andrey Minakov of Russia in 2020.[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] He also won the gold medal in the 100-metre butterfly, with a time of 52.03 seconds, and the gold medal in the 50-metre freestyle, with a time of 21.92 seconds.[12] [13] [14]
At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, he won the silver medal in the 50-metre butterfly event, thus becoming the first ever Portuguese medalist in senior world championships.[15] He set a new Portuguese record with a time of 22.80 seconds.[16]
Diogo Ribeiro became world champion in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, repeating the title he won five days earlier in the 50-meter butterfly event.[17]
| 100 freestyle | 50 butterfly | 100 butterfly | 4×100 medley | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EJC 2021 | 11th | 5th | 6th | |||
| MG 2022 | 5th | 9th | 5th | |||
| EC 2022 | 11th | 9th | 8th | |||
| WJC 2022 | 1st (h) | |||||
| WC 2023 | 13th | 10th | 13th | 16th | ||
| WC 2024 | 18th | 11th | 10th |
Ribeiro withdrew after qualifying for the semifinal.
| 50 butterfly | 100 butterfly | 4×50 medley | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC 2023 | 7th | 9th | 9th | 5th |
| 50 m freestyle | 21.87 | 2023 Portuguese National Championships | Funchal, Portugal | 30 March 2023 | NR (h) | [18] [19] [20] | |
| 100 m freestyle | 47.98 | 2023 Portuguese National Championships | Funchal, Portugal | 31 March 2023 | NR | ||
| 200 m freestyle | 1:48.98 | 2023 Portuguese National Club Championships | Oeiras, Portugal | 7 April 2023 | |||
| 400 m freestyle | 4:06.88 | 2022 Portuguese National Club Championships | Oeiras, Portugal | 9 April 2022 | |||
| 50 m backstroke | 27.00 | "Rumo a Tóquio 2021" Meet | Coimbra, Portugal | 27 March 2021 | |||
| 100 m backstroke | 59.54 | 13th Coimbra Meet | Coimbra, Portugal | 24 April 2021 | |||
| 200 m backstroke | 2:21.03 | 3rd Latvian Junior and Youth Championship | Riga, Latvia | 4 May 2019 | |||
| 50 m breaststroke | 31.73 | 13th Coimbra Meet | Coimbra, Portugal | 24 April 2021 | |||
| 50 m butterfly | 22.80 | 2023 World Aquatics Championships | Fukuoka, Japan | 24 July 2023 | NR | ||
| 100 m butterfly | 51.17 | 2024 World Aquatics Championships | Doha, Qatar | 17 February 2024 | NR | ||
| 200 m butterfly | 2:08.38 | 2019 Portuguese Junior National Championships | Coimbra, Portugal | 4 April 2019 | |||
| 200 m individual medley | 2:11.46 | "Rumo a Tóquio 2021" Meet | Coimbra, Portugal | 28 March 2021 | |||
| 400 m individual medley | 4:48.79 | 2019 Portuguese Junior National Championships | Coimbra, Portugal | 5 April 2019 | |||
| 4×100 m freestyle relay | 3:20.92 | 2023 Portuguese National Club Championships | Oeiras, Portugal | 6 April 2023 | NR | ||
| 4×200 m freestyle relay | 7:38.79 | 2023 Portuguese National Club Championships | Oeiras, Portugal | 7 April 2023 | |||
| 4×100 m medley relay | 3:35.63 | 2023 World Aquatics Championships | Fukuoka, Japan | 30 July 2023 | NR (h) |
| 50 m freestyle | 21.87 | 8th International Algarve Meeting | Albufeira, Portugal | 13 November 2022 | |||
| 100 m freestyle | 46.61 | 2023 European Short Course Championships | Otopeni, Romania | 10 December 2023 | NR | [21] | |
| 50 m backstroke | 27.08 | Vale do Sousa Open | Felgueiras, Portugal | 28 April 2019 | |||
| 50 m butterfly | 22.71 | 2023 European Short Course Championships | Otopeni, Romania | 8 December 2023 | NR | ||
| 100 m butterfly | 51.00 | 2023 Portuguese National Club Championships | Felgueiras, Portugal | 22 December 2023 | NR | ||
| 200 m butterfly | 2:06.17 | Vale do Sousa Open | Felgueiras, Portugal | 27 April 2019 | |||
| 200 m individual medley | 2:09.69 | Vale do Sousa Open | Felgueiras, Portugal | 28 April 2019 | |||
| 4×50 m freestyle relay | 1:40.36 | Vale do Sousa Open | Felgueiras, Portugal | 27 April 2019 | |||
| 4×50 m medley relay | 1:33.82 | 2023 European Short Course Championships | Otopeni, Romania | 6 December 2023 |
Below are listed Ribeiro's sanctioned record times obtained at world, continental and other relevant international competitions.
| 1 | 50 m butterfly | 23.38 | 2022 Mediterranean Games | Oran, Algeria | 1 July 2022 | CR | Current | [22] | |
| 2 | 50 m butterfly | 22.96 | 2022 World Junior Championships | Lima, Peru | 3 September 2022 | WJR, CR | Current |
Diogo Ribeiro lost his father when he was 4 years old and got into the habit, in his own words, "of talking to him a lot at night."[23] [24] When he was 16, he had a motorbike accident in Coimbra that left him with a broken index finger, part of which he lost, and excruciating pain all over his body. Before he made a full recovery, he spent a week in hospital and a month in bed at home. Then he started physiotherapy, but for a while he still had to use a wheelchair when he went to the toilet.[25] [26]