Brazilian middle-distance runner
José Luíz Barbosa , known as Zequinha Barbosa (born May 27, 1961) is a Brazilian former middle-distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres. José participated in 4 Olympic Games: 1984 Los Angeles; 1988 Soul Korea; 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta. He is the 1987 World Indoor Champion , and a two-time World Championship medallist, winning silver in 1991 and bronze in 1987. 1995 Pan American gold medalist 800m 1987 Silver medalist, 1983 Silver medalist 800m and Silver 4x400m. Jose was ranked number one in the world in the 800m in 1991.
Career
Born in Três Lagoas , Mato Grosso do Sul , Barbosa won the silver medal at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo . A few weeks before, Barbosa had won the 800m race at the prestigious Letzigrund meeting in Zürich . He travelled to Tokyo as the favourite but lost to Billy Konchellah from Kenya , who overtook him on the home straight .
Shortly after the championships, Barbosa ran the fastest time of the year in Rieti, where he clocked 1 minute 43.08 secs. This remained his personal best throughout the remainder of his career. A year later he placed fourth in the Olympic final .
Earlier in his career, Barbosa had won a bronze medal at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome, and finished sixth in the 800m final at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
Barbosa celebrated his greatest indoor success at the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, where he won gold over 800m. At the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Toronto he entered the 800m final as a favourite but dropped out after colliding with Nico Motchebon .
Barbosa was head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach at Granite Hills High School in El Cajon for 5 1/2 years.
Barbosa was also the Men's Cross Country and Track and Field coach for Mesa College in San Diego .
On December 1, 2021, he was named the Cross Country and track assistant coach at Bellevue University Nebraska.
Competition record
Year
Competition
Venue
Position
Event
Notes
Representing Brazil
1981
South American Championships
La Paz , Bolivia
2nd
800 m
1:54.7
1st
4 × 400 m relay
3:09.5
1983
World Championships
Helsinki , Finland
19th (sf)
800 m
1:48.05
6th (sf)
4 × 400 m relay
3:04.46
Pan American Games
Caracas , Venezuela
2nd
800 m
1:46.65
2nd
4 × 400 m relay
3:02.79
Ibero-American Championships
Barcelona , Spain
3rd
800 m
1:50.02
3rd
4 × 100 m relay
41.00
2nd
4 × 400 m relay
3:07.62
South American Championships
Santa Fe , Argentina
1st
800 m
1:49.1
1st
4 × 400 m relay
3.10.8
1984
Olympic Games
Los Angeles , United States
15th (sf)
800 m
1:48.70
7th (sf)
4 × 400 m relay
3:03:99
1987
World Indoor Championships
Indianapolis , United States
1st
800 m
1:47.49
Pan American Games
Indianapolis , United States
2nd
800 m
1:47.37
World Championships
Rome , Italy
3rd
800 m
1:43.76
19th (h)
4 × 400 m relay
3:05.64
1988
Olympic Games
Seoul , South Korea
6th
800 m
1:46.39
33rd (h)
1500 m
3:44.46
1989
World Indoor Championships
Budapest , Hungary
2nd
800 m
1:45.55
1990
Goodwill Games
Seattle , United States
3rd
800 m
1:45.81
Ibero-American Championships
Manaus , Brazil
1st
800 m
1:46.18
1991
World Championships
Tokyo , Japan
2nd
800 m
1:44.24
1992
Olympic Games
Barcelona , Spain
4th
800 m
1:45.06
World Cup
Havana , Cuba
4th
800 m
1:47.66 [ 1]
1993
World Indoor Championships
Toronto , Canada
6th (sf)
800 m
1:48.56 [ 2]
World Championships
Stuttgart , Germany
15th (sf)
800 m
1:45.92
1994
Goodwill Games
Saint Petersburg , Russia
6th
800 m
1:47.49
World Cup
London , United Kingdom
7th
800 m
1:48.26 [ 1]
1995
Pan American Games
Buenos Aires , Argentina
1st
800 m
1:46.02
4th
4 × 400 m relay
3:07.54
South American Championships
Manaus , Brazil
1st
800 m
1:46.16
World Championships
Gothenburg , Sweden
15th (h)
800 m
1:47.10
1996
Ibero-American Championships
Medellín , Colombia
2nd (h)
800 m
1:49.93 [ 2]
Olympic Games
Atlanta , United States
23rd (sf)
800 m
1:50.33
1997
World Championships
Athens , Greece
25th (qf)
800 m
1:47.30
Personal bests
Outdoor
Indoor
References
^ a b Representing the Americas
^ a b Did not finish in the final