[2][3] It was not the easiest of things to become an international athlete, as the city of Abreu e Lima did not sport a rubber track; also she came from a "humble family".

[2] She had not improved in the latter event, but her personal best in the long jump was 6.46 metres, achieved in September 2002 in Rio de Janeiro.

[5] In the following seasons, she rarely competed internationally, except for a participation at the 2004 Olympic Games where she failed to reach the final.

In late 2006, she represented the Americas (except for the United States) in long jump at the World Cup event, finishing sixth.

[5] Maurren Higa Maggi later captured the South American triple jump record,[4] and also dominated in national championships.

[10] At the 2007 Pan American Games she won two silver medals,[2] and at the 2007 World Championships in August she finished ninth in the triple and seventh in the long jump competition.

At the World Athletics Final towards the end of the season, she finished sixth in the triple and fifth in the long jump.

In the long jump, though, she finished seventh at the World Indoor Championships and eleventh at the Olympic Games.

[13] The long jump at the 2009 Lusophony Games was a head-to-head with Portugal's Naide Gomes and Costa took the silver medal, three centimetres back with a mark of 6.71 m. Her focus turned to the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, but she failed to record a mark in her three attempts in the long jump final.