Joanna de Albuquerque Maranhão Bezerra de Melo, or Joanna Maranhão (born April 29, 1987 in

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...

) is a swimmer from

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, who competed at three consecutive Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in 2004. She was a finalist in the 400-metre individual medley at 2004 Athens, finishing in 5th place, the best position of all time obtained by the Brazil women's swimming, along with Piedade Coutinho. Joanna also broke countless Brazilian and South American records.

International career

At 12 years old, she was in the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns and ...

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. At the

2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The ninth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2002 in Yokohama International Swimming Pool in Yokohama, Japan, from August 24–29. One world record A world record is usually the ...

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

, she finished 13th in the 400-metre individual medley, 14th in the 200-metre individual medley, and 16th in the 200-metre breaststroke. She broke the Brazilian record of the 400-metre individual medley at 15 years old, in this competition. At the 2003 World Aquatics Championships in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, she finished 15th in the 400-metre individual medley, beating the Brazilian record with a time of 4:49.04. She also finished 24th in the 200-metre individual medley and 29th in the 200-metre breaststroke. She won the bronze medal in the women's 400-metre individual medley at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

. She also finished 4th in the 200-metre individual medley, and 8th in 200-meter breaststroke. At 17 years old, she was a finalist in the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, where she finished 5th in 400-metre individual medley, the best placement obtained by a Brazilian woman swimmer at all times. Also ranked 7th in 4×200-metre freestyle, and 11th in the 200-metre individual medley. Joanna Maranhão broke the South American record of the 4×200-metre freestyle with a time of 8:05.29, along with Paula Baracho, Mariana Brochado and Monique Ferreira, record that was not broken until today; she also broke the South American record of the 200-metre individual medley, with a time of 2:15.43, at semifinals. At the 400-metre individual medley, the Argentine swimmer Georgina Bardach broke the South American record and won the bronze medal doing 4:37.51; Maranhão broke the Brazilian record with 4:44.00, record that was not broken until today. After Athens 2004, Joanna Maranhão had a big dip in form, which has been slowly recovering over the years. Maranhão was champion of South American Championships, in the 200-metre individual medley, on 2006, and seven times champion of the Jose Finkel Trophy, in the 200-metre and 400-metre individual medley (2002-2008). In

2004 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 7th FINA Short Course World Championships were held at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States from October 7 through October 11, 2004. Results Freestyle Backstroke Breaststroke Butterfly Medley Medal table ...

, held in Indianapolis, Joanna was in 8th place in the qualifiers of 400-metre individual medley, but did not swim the final. In 200-metre backstroke, suffered disqualification; and ranked 6th in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay. Maranhão was at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

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, where she finished 21st in the 400-metre individual medley, 10th in the 200-metre individual medley and 13th in the 4×200-metre freestyle Participating in the

2006 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 8th FINA World Swimming Championships ( 25 m) swam April 5–9, 2006 at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, China Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities o ...

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, China, obtained the 12th place in the 400-metre individual medley, 13th in the 200-metre individual medley and 9th in the 4×200-metre freestyle. Participating in the

2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The tenth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2006 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from August 17–20. Six world records A world record is usually the best global and mo ...

, in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Maranhão finished 14th in the 200-metre individual medley, 14th in the 400-metre individual medley, 14th in the 200-metre butterfly and 28th in the 200-metre backstroke. She was at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic C ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, where she finished 4th in the 200-metre and 400-metre individual medley. She won the bronze medal in the 4×200-metre freestyle, by having swum the playoff race. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, she finished 17th in 400-metre individual medley, 22nd in the 200-metre individual medley, and 22nd in the 200-metre butterfly. She was at the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplines ...

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Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where she finished 12th in the 200-metre individual medley, 20th in the 200-metre butterfly and 22nd in the 400-metre individual medley. At the

2010 South American Games The IX South American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Sudamericanos''; Portuguese: ''Jogos Sul-Americanos'') was a multi-sport event held between 19 and 30 March 2010 in Medellín, Colombia. The Games were organized by the South American Sports Org ...

in Medellín, Maranhão won five gold medals in the 200-metre individual medley, 400-metre individual medley, 200-metre butterfly, 400-metre freestyle and 4×200-metre freestyle. She also won a bronze medal in the 800-metre freestyle. She was at the

2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The eleventh edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, also known as the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in Irvine, California, United States, from August 18–22. M ...

in Irvine, where she finished 6th in the 4×200-metre freestyle, 11th in the 400-metre individual medley, 12th in the 200-metre butterfly, 17th in the 200-metre individual medley, and dropped the 400-metre freestyle. Participating in the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

in Guadalajara,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, she got the silver medal in the 400-metre individual medley, getting close to defeat the short course world record holder, Julia Smit. She also got the silver in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay, and bronze in the 200-metre individual medley, besides being in 4th place in 200-metre butterfly and 400-metre freestyle. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, she finished 15th in the 200-metre individual medley, and 26th in the 200-metre butterfly. At the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in

, Maranhão finished 16th in the 200-metre butterfly, 17th in the 400-metre individual medley, 26th in the 200-metre individual medley and dropped the 200-metre backstroke. She retired from swimming, but later she came back. In April 2015, participating in the Maria Lenk Trophy in Rio de Janeiro, she broke the South American record in the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay with a time of 8:03.22, along with Manuella Lyrio,

Larissa Oliveira Larissa Martins de Oliveira (born 16 February 1993) is a Brazilian Freestyle swimming, freestyle Swimming (sport), swimmer. International career 2012–16 At the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Istanbul, she finished 6th in the ...

and

Gabrielle Roncatto Gabrielle Gonçalves Roncatto (born 19 July 1998 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian swimmer. She finished 5th in the 400m freestyle at the 2024 Doha World Championships. International career 2014–16 On 3 September 2014, participating in the Jos� ...

Personal bests

Joanna Maranhão is the current holder, or former holder, of the following records: Long Course (50 meters): * South American record holder of the 200m medley: 2:12.12, time obtained on July 26, 2009 * South American record holder of the 200m butterfly: 2:09.41, time obtained on September 5, 2009 * Former South American record holder of the 4 × 200 m freestyle: 8:03.22, time obtained on April 8, 2015, along with Manuella Lyrio,

and Gabriela Roncatto * Former Brazilian record holder of the 400m freestyle: 4:12.19, time obtained on May 8, 2009 * Brazilian record holder of the 800m freestyle: 8:32.96, time obtained on December 18, 2009 * Brazilian record holder of the 400m medley: 4:38.07, time obtained on July 17, 2015 * Former South American record holder of the 800m freestyle: 8:42.87, time obtained on June 25, 2004 Short course (25 meters): * South American record holder of the 200m medley: 2:09.03, time obtained on November 6, 2009 * South American record holder of the 400m medley: 4:26.98, time obtained on November 7, 2009 * South American record holder of the 200m butterfly: 2:04.01, time obtained on November 7, 2009 * Former South American record holder of the 200m backstroke: 2:08.34, time obtained on August 20, 2012 (she is still the Brazilian record holder) * Former South American record holder of the 4 × 200 m freestyle: 8:01.78, time obtained on September 9, 2005, along with Paula Baracho, Manuella Lyrio and

Tatiana Lemos Tatiana Martine Lemos de Lima Barbosa (born December 10, 1978) is a freestyle swimming, freestyle swimmer from Brazil. In her career, she represented Minas Brasília, COPM de Brasília, Iate Clube de Brasília, AABB de Brasília, Clube do Exérc ...

* Former South American record holder of the 200m freestyle: 1:57.19, time obtained on November 6, 2009 * Former South American record holder of the 800m freestyle: 8:32.17, time obtained on September 7, 2004 (she is still the Brazilian record holder).

References

UOL Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maranhao, Joanna 1987 births Living people Brazilian female backstroke swimmers Brazilian female breaststroke swimmers Brazilian female butterfly swimmers Brazilian female freestyle swimmers Brazilian female medley swimmers Olympic swimmers of Brazil Swimmers at the 2003 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2007 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2011 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2015 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Pan American Games bronze medalists for Brazil Pan American Games medalists in swimming South American Games gold medalists for Brazil South American Games bronze medalists for Brazil South American Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 2010 South American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Recife 21st-century Brazilian women 20th-century Brazilian women

International career

Personal bests

See also

References