May 9, 2008

RIO DE JANEIRO - Auburn's Cesar Cielo won his third gold medal in as many days on Friday as he won the 50m butterfly at the Brazilian Olympic Trials.

Cielo, a native of St. Barbara, Brazil, clocked a 24.02 in the 50m fly, beating out Guilherme Roth Dos Santos and his 24.13.

The win is the third of the week for Cielo and his second individual win of the meet.

In Wednesday's opening finals session, Cielo got started by winning the 50m free with a time of 21.96. He 21.90 in the preliminary gave him the meet record and the fifth-fastest time in the world this year.

He followed that up on Thursday by swimming the second leg on the winning 200m freestyle relay team that set a new South American record with a time of 1:28.19.

The qualifying meet is a formality for Cielo, a 19-time All-American and 10-time NCAA champion, as he is already qualified for the Brazilian National Team that will travel to Beijing, China in August for the 2008 Olympics.

Cielo is also expected to compete in the 100m freestyle and the 400m free relay during the Olympic-qualifying meet.