Overcoming her setbacks, Stephanie Balduccini continues to elevate her career

At 6 months old, babies are typically grasping for toys, mimicking sounds and on the cusp of beginning to crawl.

But if you traveled to São Paulo, Brazil, in 2005, you would find 6-month-old Stephanie Balduccini doing a little more than that. Instead of puttering about, watching the world go by, she was floating around in a pool already learning her first strokes, giving a glimpse into her future as a two-time Olympian, three-time Brazil National Champion and Pan-American Junior Champion swimmer. 

Growing up alongside her twin brother, Ricky Balduccini, in the Portuguese-speaking country, Stephanie’s parents encouraged their children to learn English in anticipation of moving to the United States. She also picked up gymnastics and tennis in her early years, but at about 14 years old, swimming became Stephanie’s focal point. 

Just two years after making that choice, Stephanie found herself with the opportunity to make Brazil’s roster for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. 

Stephanie barely qualified for the Olympic Trials. To actually make the team, she needed to swim under 56.01 seconds in the 100 freestyle. She pushed through with a 56.00, breaking Brazil’s national record at the time. She not only qualified individually, but also collectively on the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay, clinching her spot at the Tokyo Games.

“I had to qualify top four, and I placed third,” Stephanie told The Michigan Daily. “I was sobbing, my mom was sobbing, my coach was sobbing. We were all so happy. I got to go to Tokyo at 16.”

The Tokyo Olympics were supposed to take place in 2020. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic on the rise, the Olympians had to wait another year to compete. Not only were competitions delayed, but challenges like travel restrictions and quarantine measures made it difficult for athletes to even train.

Stephanie felt the effects of the unprecedented circumstances, as her passport was stamped and her family was left at home in Brazil, watching her career bloom through a screen.

“I was so young and it was the first time I was traveling without my parents,” Stephanie said. “I was training in Fukuoka and we weren’t allowed out of the hotel. It was swim and back, you didn’t really get to explore. I was just kind of lonely for most of it.” 

It was difficult; the streets of Tokyo were empty and grey, with Stephanie never getting to witness the range of the world’s colors mingling throughout. Stephanie didn’t medal in her events, but competing for her country at such a young age was still a positive experience. 

In between the Tokyo and 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, the Brazilian national swim team made a coaching change. Freshly at a pinnacle of her athletic career, adjusting to a new head coach was unsettling. After building a strong relationship with her previous coach, Stephanie struggled to acknowledge that her success didn’t come from her coaches, but from herself.

“For about two years, my swimming went downhill and I wasn’t really enjoying it,” Stephanie said. “I had contemplated stopping, but I had committed to Michigan and I knew I had to give it a chance. I love it here, so I am definitely glad I didn’t quit.”

2023 was a year of adapting for Stephanie, as she had just moved to the United States to begin her collegiate career with the Wolverines. She found that her knowledge of English at such an early age prepared her for most aspects of this new American life. However that knowledge fell short in the pool, as swimming was the only thing in her life that was 100% in Portuguese.

When Stephanie moved to Michigan, she was forced to learn the imperial measurement system as opposed to metric, which is found nearly everywhere else in the world but the United States. A lot of the drills, and almost everything else done in the pool, was foreign to Stephanie. 

After already conquering so many challenges, it’s no surprise that Stephanie excelled in the pool despite all the changes that came with moving to Ann Arbor. She broke barriers her freshman year by finishing strong at Big Ten Championships and drove her spot to compete at NCAA Championship’s. Deservingly, she received the title of Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All-American honors. 

And, as soon as her freshman season came to a close, Stephanie was already onto the next big challenge: the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. 

Two weeks before her July 2024 Olympic Trials, Stephanie was diagnosed with appendicitis. Thinking it was food poisoning in December 2023, she let it go. But it made a painful comeback in April 2024 forcing her into the hospital. Stephanie was told she needed surgery, but that was off the table with Olympic Trials right around the corner.

“Definitely a hard pill to swallow at the time,” Stephanie said. “I had done a time in practice so close to the ‘A’ cut that I was so happy with my swimming at the time and suddenly, literally, my world turned upside down. And that was pretty miserable.”

Fending off her appendicitis with antibiotics, Stephanie still managed to qualify for the Olympics. Not for just one race, but two relays and two freestyle events, all while in immense pain. Relieved by punching her ticket to Paris, she took a few weeks off from swimming and eliminated her appendicitis with surgery, ready to start the final Olympic venture of 2024.  

The Paris Olympics were a totally different realm than the pandemic-ridden Tokyo Olympics. Breathing in the fresh, lively air, athletes and spectators roamed the streets witnessing the iconic Eiffel Tower and experiencing the true vibrance of international sports again. 

While Stephanie and her relay teams may have walked away empty handed from the Paris Olympics, she brought home yet another unforgettable experience. 

“Even with this huge crowd of people, I still managed to spot my parents in the stands,” Balducini said. “That was the best it could ever be.”

The disappointment of leaving without a medal would soon pass. What made it all worth it was the social aspect that gloriously returned to the world’s greatest sports gathering — and, above all, seeing her support system following her.

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When Stephanie returned to Ann Arbor, she fit right back into her groove in the pool, posting a very impressive sophomore season. She earned a nation-leading time of 1:41.85 in the 200 freestyle and earned numerous 100 freestyle victories throughout the season. She led the Wolverines to the NCAA Championships after winning the 200 freestyle title at the Big Ten Championship. Stephanie also qualified for the 100 freestyle and three relays at NCAAs, ranking her in the top-10 nationally. 

Medaling as the first Brazilian woman to do so, Stephanie guided Michigan toward its ending rank of ninth at the NCAA Championships.

“For being the first Brazilian woman, that’s pretty cool,” Stephanie said. “I think a lot of Brazilians don’t understand how hard the NCAAs are and I think that scoring a medal at NCAAs is almost the same thing as scoring a medal at Worlds. It’s definitely harder to win (NCAAs) than qualify for the Olympics.”

Looking ahead, Stephanie is planning to pave her way to the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics with Team Brazil. And while she is unsure if she will eventually return home to Brazil, she will always love her home country and continues to motivate young athletes of her community that first lifted her up years ago.

“Every time I go home, I get to meet a whole bunch of kids who ask for autographs, and I feel like that’s really special,” Stephanie said. “That’s definitely one of the reasons why I really like the sport.”

Brazil doesn’t acquire many Olympic medals for women’s swimming, and while those women have all been successful on the same stages Stephanie’s been on, they were not as prominent as she is today. Stephanie is putting up record times and becoming the role model for kids back in Brazil. 

From a 6-month-old São Paulo native to an unforgettable athlete, Stephanie has become an inspiration for the young swimmers like her that she once was back home in Brazil. Although it wasn’t an easy journey, it was one she felt was more than worth it; proving she can blaze through and keep being the remarkable woman she is today.

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