Carlos Almeida

Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Lisbon, Portugal
High School:
Lisbon

Junior: A member of Portugal's national team, Carlos broke the Portuguese national record for the 100-meter breaststroke in the first day of competition in the 14th FINA World Swimming Championship in Shanghai, China. The BIG EAST champion and former Portuguese Olympian established a mark of 1:02.13. Almeida had a monster year for the Cards in 2010-11. He competed in the NCAA Championships in the 200-IM and 100-breast and as the second leg of the 400-medley relay. The 400-medley team advanced to the NCAA finals. He became the highest U of L finisher ever at the NCAA finals and also set a school record when he took third in the 100-breast with a time of 52.02. He also set a school record in the 200-IM with a time of 1:43.97. Carlos was named BIG EAST Swimmer of the Week on a trio of occasions during the season (Dec. 8, Jan. 26, Feb. 2). During the BIG EAST Championships, Almeida competed in the 800-free relay, the 200- and 400-IM, and the 200-breast. He was the anchor for the 800-free relay team and had the fastest split with a time of 1:36.60, which helped earn the group a first-place finish in 6:23.23. In the 200-IM, he finished first with a time of 1:46.21, and in the 400-IM, he placed second in 3:48.09. Almeida added another first-place finish in the 200-breast, clocking in at 1:54.98. He made the national B-cut in all three individual events. Almeida was a four-time All-BIG EAST performer.

Sophomore: Carlos made school history when he placed 5th in the 200-yard breast stroke with a time of 1:54.27 and 12th in the 100-yard breast stroke with a time of 53.32 at the 2010 NCAA Championships. It was the highest individual finish ever for a Cardinal. At the BIG EAST Championships, Carlos was named All-BIG EAST in six different events. In the 800- yard freestyle relay, he posted a split time of 1:37.16 and contributed to a total team time of 6:29.99 for second place. He finished in first place in both the 200- and 400 IM. In the 200-IM he recorded a time of 1:45.71 and in the 400-IM, he finished in 3:46.43, more than seven seconds faster than his preliminary time. He also combined with teammates to win the 400-medley relay in which he swam the breast stroke leg in 52.52. The team finished the relay in 3:10.95 and in first place. His good fortunes continued as he swam the 200-yard breast stroke, posting a time of 1:54.85, coming in first place and setting a new BIG EAST record. In his final event, the 400-freestyle relay he swam a split time of 45.36 to help his team to a 2:56.87 total time and first place. All of Carlos' swims qualified for the national B cuts. He also had two times, the 400-IM and the 200-breast, which would have made the 2009 national cut.

Freshman: As a freshman, Carlos joined the Cardinal squad in January. Swimming for his native Portugal, Carlos went to Rome to swim in the World Championships. He swam the 400-meter IM (4:21.36) and finished 26th in the World. He swam the 200-breast in 2:15.58. He had a personal best with a 2:01.76 in the 200-M Individual Medley that placed him 36th in the world. A personal best time of 1:02.46 in the 100-meter breast was another highlight. He was named All- BIG EAST en route to setting three school records. He was the BIG EAST champion in the 200-breast with a school record time of 1:55.21. He also won the 200-IM with a time of 1:45.26. His 3.49.88 time in the 400-IM was good for second place and set a U of L school record. From the BIG EAST, he went on to the NCAA's where he swam the 200-IM (1:48.64) and the 400-IM (3:56.96). Prior to U of L: Carlos came to U of L after participating in the 2008 Beijing Olympics for Portugal in the 200-meter breaststroke. He swam for CN Amadora for Coach Filipe Coehl. He won a bronze medal in the European Juniors in 2005 in the 200 meter breaststroke and also participated in the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne where he set a national record.

Personal: Born Aug. 4, 1988. Major is exercise science.