Jose Guilherme Couto (born 27 February 1978) is a Portuguese swimmer. He competed at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, and the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. In the short course, he was Vice-World champion in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, and Vice-European champion in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, as well as winning a bronze medal at the 1999 European Short Course Championships. Over the course of his career, he has won 108 medals, including one gold medal, and one bronze medal, at Swimming World Cup circuits.

Background

Couto was born 27 February 1978 in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, and emigrated to the United States."Jose Couto: Profile".
''

FINA World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...

''. Retrieved 9 February 2023. He has one brother. When he was seventeen years old, Couto began to win big titles and became one of the best Portuguese swimmer of all time in breaststroke. Once arriving in the United States, he attended Florida Gators swimming and diving team and swam for coach Gregg Troy, and with the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history,

Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American former competition swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. He is the third-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by total number of medals, behind only Michael Phelps and Kat ...

from 2002 to 2005.

International career

1996 Summer Olympics

At the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, he swam a 2.17.28 in the prelims of the 200-metre breaststroke to set a new Portuguese record in the event but did not advance to the final.

1997 Swimming World Cup

Stop 1: Espoo On the first day of the short course 1997 FINA Swimming World Cup in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, Couto won a bronze medal in the 200-metre breaststroke, finishing in a time of 2.15.81 seconds with Polish Mark Krawczyk, gold medalist, and Raiko Pachel, silver medalist.

(7 February 2023)
"FINA Swimming World Cup 1997 Espoo (FIN): Men's 200m Breaststroke Final Results"
Retrieved 7 February 2023. Stop 2: Malmo At stop number two of the World Cup series, held in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, Couto improved upon his placement, this time winning the gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke with a time of 2.14.98 seconds and sharing the podium with American Travis Myers, gold medalist, and Peter Aronsson, silver medalist.

1997 European Championships

At the 1997 European Championships held in December 1997 in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, Couto placed fifth in the final, breaking the Portuguese national record with a time of 2.14.90 seconds.

1998 World Championships

In the preliminary heats of the 200-metre breaststroke at the

1998 World Aquatics Championships The 8th FINA World Championships or the 1998 World Aquatics Championships were held from 8 to 17 January 1998 in Perth, Western Australia. The championships features competition in all five of FINA's disciplines: Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, ...

on 8 January, Couto placed fourteenth in the preliminaries with a time of 2.17.51 seconds. He ranked sixth in the evening B final, swimming in a 2.18.37 seconds.

1999 Swimming World Cup

Starting out at the first short course 1999 FINA Swimming World Cup stop in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Couto placed 4th in the final in the 100-metre breaststroke set at 1.01.28 seconds.

1999 World Short Course Championships

For the 1999 World Championships held 1–4 April at the

Hong Kong Coliseum Hong Kong Coliseum (), commonly and informally known as the Hung Hom Coliseum (, ) is a multi-purpose indoor arena, in Hung Hom Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. It is in Yau Tsim Mong District. It was built by the Urban Council ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, Couto placed 6th in the final in the 200-metre breaststroke, set at 2.09.56 seconds. Also, placed 7th in the final in the 200-metre breaststroke.

1999 European Championships

For the 1999 European Championships held in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

from 26 July to 1 August, in the 50 m pool of the Ataköy Olympic Pool Stadium, Couto placed 7th in the final of the 200-metre ''breaststr''oke set at 2.16.05 seconds.

1999 European Short Course Championships

The 1999 European Short Course Championships held in Complexo Desportivo do Jamor in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, from 9 to 11 December, Couto won a silver medal in the 200-metre breaststroke with a 2.09.98, finishing 2.16 seconds behind first-place finisher Stéphan Perrot of France, and 1 second ahead of third-place finisher Adam Whitehead, bronze medalist. In the final of the 100-metre breaststroke the following day, he won the bronze medal with a time of 59.70 seconds.

2000 European Championships

The 2000 European Championships held in 3 July to 9 July 2000 in

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki () is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipality, with million in the capital region and ...

, Couto placed 7th in the final in the 200-metre breaststroke, in 2.16.59 seconds.

2000 Summer Olympics

At the

held from 15 September to 1 October 2000 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, he swam a 1.02.79 in the prelims of the 100-metre breaststroke finishing 18th, and the 200-metre breaststroke, finishing 26th.

2001 World Championships

At the 2001 World Championships held from 15 September to 1 October 2000 in

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, Couto placed tenth in the evening semifinals of the 200-metre breaststroke, placed eleventh in the evening semifinals of the 100-metre breaststroke, and placed fifteen in the evening semifinals of the 50-metre breaststroke.

2002 World Short Course Championships

At the 2002 European Short Course Championships in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, Couto turned in his best performance in an international tournament, winning the silver medal in the 50-metre breaststroke finishing in a time of 27.22 seconds, which was 0.80 seconds slower than the gold medalist and world record holder in the event Oleg Lisogor. In his second event, he placed 6th in the 200-metre breaststroke, finishing in a time of 2.09.14 seconds.

2004 European Championships

The 2004 European Championships held in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

from 5–16 May, at the

M86 Swimming Center The Swimming Center M-86 is a complex of pools in southeast of Madrid, Spain. The headquarters of the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation are located there. Overview The official opening was on 14 May 1986. The complex was built to host the 5th ...

, Couto split a 1.03.54 for the breaststroke leg of the 4×100 metre medley relay, placed ninth with a final relay time of 3:46.11 seconds.

2004 Summer Olympics

At the

held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, he placed 33rd in the prelims heats of the 100-metre breaststroke with a final time of 1.03.72 seconds.

Personal best times

Long course metres (50 m pool)

Short course metres (25 m pool)

Swimming World Cup circuits

The following medals Couto has won at Swimming World Cup circuits."Jose Couto Medals"
''

''. Retrieved 7 February 2023.

Honours and awards

* Bordalo Press Award, distinguished in the category of sports on 4 June 2000, at the Culturgest Grand Auditorium * Stromp Award, distinguished three times with the Stromp Award in 1995, 96 and 97"Stromp Award attributed three times to Jose Couto in the category of Athlete of the Year".

Sporting Club de Portugal Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

. Retrieved 7 February 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Couto, Jose 1978 births Living people Portuguese male breaststroke swimmers Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers from Lisbon Olympic swimmers for Portugal

External links

Jose Couto
at

Jose Couto
at Olympics.com
Jose Couto
a
Olympedia
Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) European Short Course Swimming Championships

Background

International career

1996 Summer Olympics

1997 Swimming World Cup

1997 European Championships

1998 World Championships

1999 Swimming World Cup

1999 World Short Course Championships

1999 European Championships

1999 European Short Course Championships

2000 European Championships

2000 Summer Olympics

2001 World Championships

2002 World Short Course Championships

2004 European Championships

2004 Summer Olympics

Personal best times

Long course metres (50 m pool)

Short course metres (25 m pool)

Swimming World Cup circuits

Honours and awards

See also

References

External links