Joaquim Cruz facts for kids
Cruz during the 2007 Parapan American Games
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Joaquim Carvalho Cruz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 12 March 1963 Taguatinga, Federal District, Brazil |
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| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 800 m, 1500 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Reebok/Team Nike/Funilense | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 800 m – 1:41.77 (1984) 1500 m – 3:34.63 (1988) |
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Medal record
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Joaquim Carvalho Cruz (born March 12, 1963) is a famous Brazilian former middle-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 800 meters at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He is one of only a few athletes in history to run the 800 metres race in less than 1 minute and 42 seconds.
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Joaquim Cruz's Early Life and Career
Joaquim Cruz was born in Taguatinga, Brazil. His father was a steel worker. Joaquim started running when he was 13 years old and quickly showed amazing talent as a young runner. By the age of 15, he could run the 800 meters in 1 minute and 51 seconds.
In 1981, he set a junior world record for the 800 meters with a time of 1 minute and 44.3 seconds. This achievement helped him get a scholarship to the University of Oregon in the United States in 1983. That same year, Cruz won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships in the 800 meters. He also earned a bronze medal at the first-ever World Championships.
College Success and Records
In 1984, at the NCAA Track and Field Championships, Cruz achieved a rare feat. He won both the 800-meter and 1500-meter races. This "double win" was very impressive and wasn't repeated until 2010. Cruz also holds a shared record at the University of Oregon for the 1,500-meter race, with a time of 3 minutes and 36.48 seconds.
Later that summer, he set a South American record for the 1000 meters in Nice, France, with a time of 2 minutes and 14.09 seconds. This record still stands today.
Olympic Gold Medal in 1984
The 1984 Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles, USA. Joaquim Cruz was one of the top favorites to win the 800-meter race. Another strong contender was Sebastian Coe from Great Britain, who held the world record at the time.
In the final moments of the 800-meter race, Cruz made a powerful sprint from second place. He took the lead and held onto it, crossing the finish line in 1 minute and 43.00 seconds. This time broke the Olympic Record set by Alberto Juantorena. Joaquim Cruz became the first Brazilian Olympic athletics gold medalist since Adhemar Ferreira da Silva, who won in the triple jump in 1952 and 1956.
Post-Olympic Achievements
A few weeks after the Olympics, Cruz had an amazing five-day period where he ran incredibly fast times.
- He set a new Brazilian 800-meter record of 1 minute and 42.34 seconds at a meet in Zurich. This made him only the second runner ever to break 1 minute and 43 seconds.
- Two days later, he ran 1 minute and 42.41 seconds in Brussels.
- Two days after that, in Cologne, he ran the second-fastest 800 meters in history at the time, with a time of 1 minute and 41.77 seconds. This was just four hundredths of a second slower than Coe's world record.
By the end of 1984, Cruz was the NCAA champion and the Olympic champion. He was undefeated in all seven of his 800-meter finals. He had also run some of the fastest 800-meter times ever recorded. He was ranked as the number one 800-meter runner in the world by Track & Field News magazine.
Later Career and Injuries
In 1985, Joaquim Cruz continued his success, winning six out of eight 800-meter races. Three of these wins were under 1 minute and 43 seconds. He even beat Sebastian Coe in one race. For the second year in a row, he was ranked as the world's number one 800-meter runner.
However, in the next two years, he faced challenges with injuries and raced less often. Despite this, he still managed to win a gold medal in the 1,500 meters at the 1987 Pan American Games. He beat strong competitors like Jim Spivey and Steve Scott.
1988 Olympics and Retirement
At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Cruz was hoping to win his second Olympic 800-meter title. However, Kenyan runner Paul Ereng passed him, and Cruz earned the silver medal.
After this, Cruz struggled with Achilles' tendon injuries, which made it hard for him to compete at the highest international level. He tried to make a comeback in 1993, racing in 1500-meter events in Europe, but he couldn't achieve the same impact. His last major victory was in the 1500 meters at the 1995 Pan American Games.
In 1996, Cruz participated in his third Olympics at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He was chosen to be the Brazilian flag-bearer, a great honor. He ran the 1500 meters but did not reach the finals.
After retiring from competitive running, Joaquim Cruz became a running coach at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. He coaches Paralympic athletes, including David Brown and Shaquille Vance. In 2007, Cruz was the last torchbearer and lit the flame cauldron at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
International Competition Results
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
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Representing  Brazil |
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| 1978 | South American Youth Championships | Montevideo, Uruguay | 1st | 400 m | 50.15 |
| 1st | 800 m | 1:56.1 | |||
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:25.0 | |||
| South American Junior Championships | São Paulo, Brazil | 3rd | 800 m | 1:51.0 | |
| 1979 | South American Youth Championships | Cochabamba, Bolivia | 1st | 400 m | 48.3 |
| 1st | 800 m | 1:58.6 | |||
| 1st | 1500 m | 4:15.5 | |||
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:24.7 | |||
| 1980 | Pan American Junior Championships | Sudbury, Canada | 1st | 800 m | 1:47.85 |
| 1st | 1500 m | 3:49.96 | |||
| South American Junior Championships | Santiago, Chile | 1st | 400 m | 47.17 | |
| 1st | 800 m | 1:50.5 | |||
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:13.1 | |||
| 1981 | World Cup | Rome, Italy | 6th | 800 m | 1:47.771 |
| 1983 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 3rd | 800 m | 1:44.27 |
| 1984 | Olympic Games | Los Angeles, United States | 1st | 800 m | 1:43.00 |
| 16th (h) | 1500 m | 3:41.012 | |||
| 1987 | Pan American Games | Indianapolis, United States | 1st | 1500 m | 3:47.34 |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 2nd | 800 m | 1:43.90 |
| 11th (h) | 1500 m | 3:40.923 | |||
| 1994 | Goodwill Games | Saint Petersburg, Russia | 7th | 800 m | 1:47.56 |
| 1995 | Pan American Games | Mar del Plata, Argentina | 1st | 1500 m | 3:40.26 |
| South American Championships | Manaus, Brazil | 2nd4 | 800 m | 1:47.19 | |
| World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 12th (h) | 1500 m | 3:39.473 | |
| 1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 42nd (h) | 1500 m | 3:45.32 |
1 Representing the Americas
2 Did not finish in the semifinal
3 Did not start in the semifinal
4 Out of competition performance
