Gustavo Borges

Gustavo França Borges (born 2 December 1972) is a Brazilian former competitive swimmer. He swam for Brazil in four Summer Olympic Games: 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. With four medals in swimming, as of 2000 Borges had won the fourth-most Olympic medals of any Brazilian athlete, with one in 1992, two in 1996 and one in 2000. Sailors Robert Scheidt and Torben Grael and canoeist Isaquias Queiroz have won five, and gymnast Rebeca Andrade won six. As of 2000, he had won eight Pan American Games gold medals, the third-most of any Brazilian competitor. Borges was Brazil's flagbearer for the Closing Ceremony at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Borges lives in São Paulo, where he runs his own swimming school. He had formerly resided in the United States, first in Jacksonville, Florida and then in Ann Arbor, Michigan while he was a student at Michigan. He attended the University of Michigan in the mid-1990s, where he competed and trained for the university's swim team, managed by Hall of Fame Coach Jon Urbanchek and graduated with a degree in Economics. His teammates at Michigan included Eric Namesnik and Marcel Wouda in the mid-1990s.

Borges was born in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, but lived in Ituverava throughout his childhood. In 1981, at the age of nine, he represented his school, placing third in the 50-meter freestyle, his first podium finish. Earlier, he had participated in swimming lessons at Associação Atlética Ituveravense. In 1984, in São João da Boa Vista, Gustavo won his first medal in official competition in the 100-meter breaststroke. Borges was a runner-up at the São Paulo state championship, and a runner-up at the Teto Olímpico in breaststroke, for the 11-12 age group category.

At the age of 15 in 1987, he trained and competed for the Associação Atlética Francana. Borges won the bronze in the 100-meter freestyle and silver in the 50-meter freestyle at the São Paulo Swimming Championship, in the A/B Youth category. That year, Borges left Ituverava, moved to São Carlos and defended his titles at the São Carlos Clube. At the São Paulo's Summer Youth Championship in 1988, he won gold in the 50-meter and silver in the 100-meter freestyle events. Borges' times qualified him to compete in the Brazilian Championship, for the Júlio Delamare Trophy.

In 1991, Borges joined The Bolles School in Jacksonville and quickly distinguished himself as one of America's foremost high school swimmers. He was the primary swimmer on Bolles' 1991 4x100 Freestyle Relay team that set a national high-school record with a recorded time of 2:59.98. That relay, which broke the old national record by 1.70 seconds, would later be disputed for claiming to be an official national record. This was due to the fact that the Florida high-school season officially is held in the fall, but the meet in which the record was set occurred at a Philadelphia prep school invitational in February 1991. His Bolles' 4x100 national high school relay record held until 2012.

In 1989, after joining the Esporte Clube Pinheiros, Borges began to gain national fame. At 17, he began placing ahead of the adult Brazilian swimmer Cristiano Michelena, who had formerly dominated the 100-meter and 200-meter events in Brazilian national competition. Borges won the Brazil Trophy, awarded at the best known and best attended tournament in Brazil, capturing two gold medals in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle.

In 1990, Borges began gaining recognition from victories in international competition. In the South American championship held in Rosario, Argentina, he won gold in three high profile freestyle events; the 50-meter freestyle, and both the 4×100 and 4×200-meter freestyle relays. In July, at the Jose Finkel Trophy—the Brazilian short course championship—he became the first Brazilian to complete the 100-meter freestyle under 49 seconds with a time of 48.59 seconds, and was summoned to swim in the 1991 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, Australia. The same year, Borges went to the United States to study at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida.

At the 1991 World Aquatics Championships, Borges finished in 12th in the 100-meter freestyle, breaking the South American record with a time of 50.77 seconds, and also in the 50-meter freestyle (23.15 seconds). He also finished 28th in the 200-meter freestyle. Borges won his first important international medals in the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana. He won the 100-meter freestyle setting a Pan Am Games record, and was a silver medalist in the 200-meter freestyle. He won a bronze at the 1991 Pan Am Games in the 50-meter freestyle, breaking the South American record. In relay events at the 1991 Pan Ams, he won gold in the 4×100-meter freestyle, and silver in the 4×200-meter freestyle.