Joaquim Cruz

Joaquim Carvalho Cruz (born 12 March 1963) is a Brazilian former middle-distance runner, winner of the 800 meters at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He is one of only ten men, and in August 1984 became the second man, to run the 800 metres in less than 1 minute 42 seconds.

Biography Joaquim Cruz was born in Taguatinga, Federal District. The son of a steel worker, he began running as a 13-year-old, and showed great promise as a junior. At the age of 15 his personal best over 800 m stood at 1:51 min. After setting a junior world record of 1:44.3 min in 1981, he received a scholarship for the University of Oregon in 1983. The move immediately paid off, and Cruz won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships over 800 m that same year. He also competed in the inaugural World Championships in 1983, winning the bronze. Later that summer, he ran a time of 2:14.09 min over 1000 m in Nice which is still the current South American record over that distance.

The 1984 Summer Olympic Games were held in Los Angeles, and Cruz was considered to be one of the 800 m favorites, along with world record holder Sebastian Coe of Great Britain. In the last turn of the 800 meter final, Cruz started a sprint from second place and took the lead, never losing it. He crossed the line in 1:43.00, breaking Alberto Juantorena's Olympic Record and making him the first Brazilian Olympic athletics gold medalist since triple jumper Adhemar Ferreira da Silva won both in 1952 and 1956. By the end of the year, he was the NCAA champion, the Olympic champion, undefeated in all seven of his 800-meter finals, had run the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th fastest 800 meter times in history, and easily ranked as #1 in the world for 800 meters in 1984 by Track & Field News magazine.

Cruz competed at the 2001 Masters West Region Track and Field Championship winning the 5000 meter run at age 38.

Cruz was the last torchbearer and lit the flame cauldron at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, on 13 July 2007. After retiring from competitions he became a running coach at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. He guides David Brown and Shaquille Vance, among other Paralympic athletics.

International competitions 1 Representing the Americas 2 Did not finish in the semifinal 3 Did not start in the semifinal 4 Out of competition performance