José Luíz Barbosa

Who is José Luíz Barbosa?

José Luíz Barbosa, known as Zequinha Barbosa is a former Brazilian 800m runner, who 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 Zurich. 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 Barbosa was past his best, and only placed fourth in the Olympic final 1992.

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.