Leonardo Costa (swimmer)

Leonardo Jorge Costa (born 12 May 1977 in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais) is a former freestyle and backstroke swimmer from Brazil, who represented his native country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.^[1] His biggest success was winning the gold medal in the 200-metre backstroke at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Leonardo Costa

Personal information
Full name	Leonardo Jorge Costa
Nationality	Brazil
Born	(1977-05-12) 12 May 1977 (age 47) Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	94 kg (207 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Backstroke, Freestyle
Club	Trojan Swim Club, Los Angeles
Medal record Pan American Games 1999 Winnipeg 200 m Backstroke 1999 Winnipeg 4×200 m Freestyle 1999 Winnipeg 200 m Freestyle

He was at the 1997 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m), where he finished 21st in the 200-metre backstroke, and 24th in the 100-metre backstroke.

Leonardo went to the 1999 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m), in Hong Kong, where he reached the 200-metre backstroke final, finishing in 6th.^[2]

At the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, he earned the gold medal in the 200-metre backstroke, silver in the 4×200-metre freestyle, and bronze in the 200-metre freestyle.^[3] The time of the 200-metre backstroke was 1:59.33, South American record, Pan American record, and index for him to participate in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.^[4][5] The silver in the 4×200-metre freestyle was obtained with a time of 7:22.92, South American record, along with Gustavo Borges, Rodrigo Castro and André Cordeiro.^[6][7][8] He also finished 9th in the 100-metre backstroke.^[9]

A historic feat achieved by Leonardo, in Winnipeg, was defeat Aaron Peirsol in the 200-metre backstroke final, that after this competition, won several Olympic medals and broke world records in the 100-metre backstroke, 200-metre backstroke and 4×100-metre medley.^[10]

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Leonardo ranked 13th in the 4×200-metre freestyle, and 14th in the 200-metre backstroke.^[1]

In 2000, Costa broke the short-course South American record in the 200-metre backstroke, with a time of 1:54.79, during the NCAA Swimming Championships in Minneapolis, MN, competing for USC (University of Southern California) and finishing in 2nd place. This record was only beaten in 2005.^[11]

Today, Leonardo Costa runs a community program called "+ Natação", in the city of João Pessoa, state of Paraíba (northeast of Brazil) teaching people from the community how to swim in the calm sea.