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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.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Leonardo Jorge Costa |
| Nationality |  Brazil |
| Born | 12 May 1977 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 |
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.
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