Joaquim Carvalho Cruz (born March 12, 1963) is a Brazilian former middle-distance runner, winner of the 800 meters at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He is one of only five men to run the 800 metres in less than 1 minute, 42 seconds. Biography Cruz was born in Taguatinga, Distrito Federal. 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. The following year at the 1984 NCAA Track and Field Championships, Cruz became one of only a handful of people to win the 800/1500 m double (a feat that would not be repeated until Andrew Wheating achieved it in 2010). Cruz is the co-holder of University of Oregon 1,500 m school record of 3:36.48 along with A.J. Acosta. 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 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 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 track and field gold medalist since triple jumper Adhemar Ferreira da Silva won both in 1952 and 1956. Later that week, after winning his first round heat of the Olympic 1500 m, Cruz did not start in the semi-finals due to a cold. After recovering from the cold, Cruz had a five-day stretch of racing a few weeks after the Olympic Games in which he set several extremely fast times. First, he ran a new Brazilian 800 m record of 1:42.34 at the Weltklasse meet in Zurich, becoming only the second runner in history to break 1:43. Two days later he ran a 1:42.41 at