Leandro Prates de Oliveira (born 2 February 1982 in Vitória da Conquista

Vitória da Conquista

Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, in English: Victory of Conquest, is a city in Bahia, Brazil which serves as a regional center for the smaller cities Barra do Choça, Planalto and Poções...

, Bahia

Bahia

Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...

) is a Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 athlete who specialises in the 1500 metres

1500 metres

The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...

. He won gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

s in the event at the 2011 South American Championships in Athletics

2011 South American Championships in Athletics

The 2011 South American Championships in Athletics were the 47th edition of the South American Championships, organised under the supervision of the CONSUDATLE. They were held at the National Center of High Performance Athletics in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 2 to 5 June 2011...

 and the 2011 Pan American Games

2011 Pan American Games

The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, Puerto Vallarta, Lagos de Moreno and Tapalpa...

.

He started competing at national level in 2006 and that year he came third over 1500 m at the Brazilian championships and set a personal best of 3:42.62 minutes. The following year he won his first international medal at the 2007 South American Championships in Athletics

2007 South American Championships in Athletics

The 2007 South American Championships in Athletics were held at the Estádio Ícaro de Castro Mello in São Paulo, Brazil from 7 June to 9 June 2007...

, where he was the 1500 m silver medal

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

list behind Byron Piedra

Byron Piedra

Byron Efrén Piedra Ávilés is an Ecuadorian middle distance and long-distance runner.He won the 2007 edition of the Guayaquil Marathon...

. He ran in both the 800 metres

800 metres

The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...

 and 1500 m events at the 2007 Summer Universiade

Athletics at the 2007 Summer Universiade

The athletics competition at the 2007 Summer Universiade was held in the Main Stadium at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, between 9 August and 14 August 2007.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medals table:-Results:******...

, but did not progress beyond the preliminary races. He did not compete internationally in 2008 and 2009, but improved his 1500 m best to 3:40.07 minutes in this period.

At the 2010 Ibero-American Championships

2010 Ibero-American Championships

The 2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics was an athletics competition which was held at the Estadio Municipal Bahía Sur in San Fernando, Cádiz, Spain from 4–6 June. A total of 44 events were contested, of which 22 by male and 22 by female athletes...

 he won the 1500 m bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 before taking the 3000 metres

3000 metres

The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is generally classified as middle distance, but it could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...

 title. He represented Brazil at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

The 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in Punta Umbría, Spain on 20 March 2011.-Preparation:The United States had expressed an interest in hosting the competition, but Punta Umbria was chosen as the host at the IAAF Council Meeting in November 2009...

 and placed 73rd in the longer 12 km race. He established himself as one of South America's best middle-distance runners on the track later that year. First he won the South American Road Championship over the mile

Mile run

The mile run is a middle-distance foot race which is among the more popular events in track running.The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races...

 and then he beat his compatriot Hudson de Souza

Hudson de Souza

Hudson Santos de Souza is a Brazilian middle distance runner who competes mostly over 1500 metres. He has broken a number of South American records in middle-distance events....

 to the 1500 m title at the 2011 South American Championships in Athletics

2011 South American Championships in Athletics

The 2011 South American Championships in Athletics were the 47th edition of the South American Championships, organised under the supervision of the CONSUDATLE. They were held at the National Center of High Performance Athletics in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 2 to 5 June 2011...

. After winning the Brazilian title in the event, he was selected for the 2011 Pan American Games

Athletics at the 2011 Pan American Games

Athletics competitions at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara was held from October 23 to October 30 at the newly built Telmex Athletics Stadium. The racewalking and marathon events were held on the temporary Guadalajara Circuit and Route and the Pan American Marathon circuit respectively...

. In a highly tactical final, he edged Ecuador's Byron Piedra at the line to claim the gold medal.

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