Joanna Maranhão

Joanna de Albuquerque Maranhão Bezerra de Melo (Recife, April 29, 1987) is a former Brazilian swimmer. Joanna started swimming at Clube Português do Recife, at the age of three. At the age of 12, she participated in the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg. At the age of sixteen she participated in the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, and won a bronze medal in the 400 meters medley, fourth place in the 200 meters medley and eighth place in the 200 meters chest. At the age of seventeen, she was a finalist at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, where she finished fifth in the 400-meter medley, the best placement obtained to date by a Brazilian swimmer. She was also seventh in the 4x200 meter freestyle and 11th in the 200 meter medley. After Athens 2004, Joanna Maranhão had a big drop in income, which was slowly recovering over the years. She participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in three events: in the 200 meters medley, in the 400 meters medley and in the 200 meters butterfly. At the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, she won the silver medal in the 400 meters medley, getting very close to defeating the world record holder for the short pool, Julia Smit. She also obtained the silver medal in the 4x200 meter freestyle relay and the bronze medal in the 200 meter medley, in addition to being fourth in the 200 meter butterfly and 400 meter freestyle.