| Leonardo Costa | |
| Full Name: | Leonardo Jorge Costa |
| Birth Date: | 1977 5, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
| Height: | 1.96 m |
| Weight: | 94 kg |
| Strokes: | Backstroke, Freestyle |
| Club: | Trojan Swim Club, Los Angeles |
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.
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.
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.