Best Times
5 K 13:37
10 K 27:53
Half Marathon 1:00:54
Marathon 2:06:05

Ronaldo Da Costa stunned the marathon world with a then world record performance of 2:06:05 to win the 1998 Berlin Marathon. Running in only his second marathon (his debut was a 2:09:07 5th place finish in the 1997 Berlin Marathon), Da Costa took the lead after a lethargic 1:04:42 first half, and stormed home with a 1:01:23 split. He took a full 45 seconds off the former world record of 2:06:50 that was set by Belayneh Densimo at the Rotterdam Marathon in April, 1988.

Da Costa began running in 1989, and has respectable best times on the track of 13:37 for 5,000m and 28:07 for 10,000m. He also finished third in the 1994 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1994, and won Brazil’s most prestigious running race, the Sao Silvestre 15K, that same year.

Da Costa’s family lives about 120 miles north of Rio de Janeiro in the small town of Descorberto. He has five sisters and seven brothers, including a twin, who used to train with him. Even before his world record break-through, he was supporting an extended family of over 20 people, and even pays his young nephews a small amount of money to carry water and pace his training on their bicycles. He is married with one daughter, Victoria, born in 2000.

Injuries cut short Da Costa's international career, but his stunning breakthrough in Berlin will long be remembered.

1993 Rio Cali 12K, Champion PR
1994 Gasparilla Distance Classic 15K, third PR
1994 Coban Half Marathon, second
1994 Falmouth Road Race, third
1994 Buenos Aires Half Marathon, Champion
1994 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, third PR NR
1994 Ibero-American Championships 5000m, Champion
1994 Rio Cali International 12K, second
1994 Sao Silvestre 15K, Champion
1995 San Fernando Road Race 10K, Champion PR
1995 San Blas Half Marathon, fourth
1995 Pan American Games 10000m, third
1996 Rio de Janeiro Half Marathon, Champion
1996 Harry Jerome Meeting 10000m, Champion
1997 San Blas Half Marathon, second
1997 Stramilano Half Marathon, fourth
1997 Berlin Marathon, Fifth, (Debut, 2:09:07) PR
1998 Brazilian 10000m Champion
1998 Rio de Janeiro Half Marathon, third
1998 Berlin Marathon Champion, (2:06:06) WR
1999 Rio de Janeiro 15K Champion