Manuel dos Santos Junior (Rio Claro

Rio Claro

Rio Claro may refer to:-Cities:*Rio Claro, Trinidad and Tobago, the largest town in southeastern Trinidad and Tobago...

, 22 February 1939) is a former Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian swimmer, former world record holder and a bronze medalist in 100 m freestyle at the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960

1960 Summer Olympics

The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...

.

Manuel, who started to swim for health problems, was the first Brazilian to get an Olympic medal in the sport in the 1960 Games. A year later, on September 21, 1961, in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, alone in the swimming pool of Club de Regatas Guanabara, set a new world record for the 100 m freestyle with a time of 53.6 seconds.

Manuel was also the South American champion for eleven years between 1958 and 1969.