Walter Costa

Walter Costa was a Brazilian ten-pin bowler who won 11 individual Brazilian championships. As well as playing the sport he also took a commercial interest with his hobby owning and running his own bowling alley. Costa began bowling in the mid-1970s taking up the sport seriously in 1979 when he took part in the Tournament of the Americas in Miami, Florida. Costa’s best success came at the 1985 Tournament of the Americas where he won all the events he competed in.

Costa represented Brazil at the 1988 Seoul Olympics when bowling was a demonstration sport. He was one of just 12 men who competed in the tournament finishing in ninth place. The Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) were ill-prepared for bowling at the Olympics, not realizing it was a sport, and not even having a uniform for Costa to wear for the Opening Ceremony. Costa’s own experience of the Olympics was a disappointment due to losing his job to attend the Games and the scheduling of the event taking place in a single day.

Despite the initial let down from the BOC at the 1988 Olympics, bowling eventually made its way onto the program for the Pan American Games in 1991. Costa represented Brazil at the 2003 Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic. He also took part at the 2010 South American Games in Colombia where he won two bronze medals.