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 800 m 1987 Silver medalist, 1983 Silver medalist 800 m and Silver 4 × 400 m. Jose was ranked number one in the world in the 800 m in 1991.
Career Born in Três Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul, Barbosa won the British AAA Championships title in the 800 metres event at the 1985 AAA Championships.
Barbosa won the silver medal at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo. A few weeks before, Barbosa had won the 800 m 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 800 m 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 800 m. At the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Toronto he entered the 800 m 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 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 Representing 1981South American ChampionshipsLa Paz, Bolivia2nd800 m1:54.71st4 × 400 m relay3:09.51983World ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland19th (sf)800 m1:48.056th (sf)4 × 400 m relay3:04.46Pan American GamesCaracas, Venezuela2nd800 m1:46.652nd4 × 400 m relay3:02.79Ibero-American ChampionshipsBarcelona, Spain3rd800 m1:50.023rd4 × 100 m relay41.002nd4 × 400 m relay3:07.62South American ChampionshipsSanta Fe, Argentina1st800 m1:49.11st4 × 400 m relay3.10.81984Olympic GamesLos Angeles, United States15th (sf)800 m1:48.707th (sf)4 × 400 m relay3:03:991987World Indoor ChampionshipsIndianapolis, United States1st800 m1:47.49Pan American GamesIndianapolis, United States2nd800 m1:47.37World ChampionshipsRome, Italy3rd800 m1:43.7619th (h)4 × 400 m relay3:05.641988Olympic GamesSeoul, South Korea6th800 m1:46.3933rd (h)1500 m3:44.461989World Indoor ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary2nd800 m1:45.551990Goodwill GamesSeattle, United States3rd800 m1:45.81Ibero-American ChampionshipsManaus, Brazil1st800 m1:46.181991World ChampionshipsTokyo, Japan2nd800 m1:44.241992Olympic GamesBarcelona, Spain4th800 m1:45.06World CupHavana, Cuba4th800 m1:47.661993World Indoor ChampionshipsToronto, Canada6th (sf)800 m1:48.56Did not finish in the finalWorld ChampionshipsStuttgart, Germany15th (sf)800 m1:45.921994Goodwill GamesSaint Petersburg, Russia6th800 m1:47.49World CupLondon, United Kingdom7th800 m1:48.26Representing the Americas1995Pan American GamesMar del Plata, Argentina1st800 m1:46.024th4 × 400 m relay3:07.54South American ChampionshipsManaus, Brazil1st800 m1:46.16World ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden15th (h)800 m1:47.101996Ibero-American ChampionshipsMedellín, Colombia2nd (h)800 m1:49.93Olympic GamesAtlanta, United States23rd (sf)800 m1:50.331997World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece25th (qf)800 m1:47.30
Personal bests Outdoor 400 metres – 45.9h (Sǎo Paulo 1983) 800 metres – 1:43.08 (Rieti 1991) 1000 metres – 2:17.36 (Nice 1985) 1500 metres – 3:37.04 (Grosseto 1991)
Indoor 600 metres – 1:16.82 (Karlsruhe 1986) 800 metres – 1:45.43 (Piraeus 1989) 1000 metres – 2:20.77 (Madrid 1989)
References