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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 28, 1954 Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo, Brazil |
| Died | May 29, 1999 (aged 45) São Paulo, Brazil |
João Carlos de Oliveira, also known as "João do Pulo" (May 28, 1954 – May 29, 1999) was a Brazilian athlete who competed in thetriple jump and thelong jump.[1]
Born inPindamonhangaba,São Paulo De Oliveira won twoOlympic bronze medals. His personal best of 17.89 metres, set on October 15, 1975, inPan American Games, stood as the world record until 1985. As of today, it is still in the top twenty of all-time best results in the event.[1]
Orphaned by his mother, he started working at the age of seven, as a car washer. In 1973, coached by Pedro Henrique de Toledo, he broke the junior triple jump world record at the South American Athletics Championships with the mark of 14.75 m. In 1975, already as an adult athlete at thePan American Games in Mexico City, thecorporal of theBrazilian Army won the gold medal in the long jump with the mark of 8.19 m and, on October 15, also the gold medal in the triple jump, with the incredible mark of 17.89 m, breaking the world record of this modality in 45 cm, that belonged to the SovietViktor Saneyev.
He was the gold medal favorite in the triple jump at theMontreal Olympics, but, recovering from belly surgery, he jumped just 16.90 m and was surpassed by Saneyev (17.29 m) and the American James Butts (17.18 m), taking the bronze medal. In addition, he was fourth in the long jump. At thePan American Games in Puerto Rico, he became twice champion in both the triple jump and the long jump, accumulating a four-time Pan American championship in two events. In the latter, he defeated none other than the future four-time Olympic champion of the event,Carl Lewis.
There exists some doubt on the judging of the1980 Olympic men's triple jump final. Several jumps of winning distance by both Oliveira andIan Campbell of Australia were adjudged as fouls by the all-Soviet judging panel, despite video replays showing this was not the case. One of Oliveira's jumps was estimated to be a new world record beyond eighteen metres. These decisions resulted in Soviet athletesJaak Uudmäe andViktor Saneyev winning the competition with performances in the low 17-metre area. Harry Seinberg, coach to Uudmäe, confirmed off-the-record that the judging had leaned in favour of the home athletes.[2][3]
Only in 2000, twenty years after the Moscow Games, the Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald, the largest in Australia, made a major report demonstrating that the Brazilian's canceled jumps were part of a Soviet operation to give Saneyev the fourth Olympic title. The plan didn't work out because of Uudmäe's best jump, but even so, the gold medal went to the USSR.[4]
In contrast to the lack of luck in the Olympics, in the pre-World Championships in Athletics, João do Pulo was three-time world champion in the triple jump in 1977 (in Düsseldorf), 1979 (in Montreal) and 1981 (in Rome, with 17.37 m, beating Jaak Uudmäe, a year after the Olympics, and future world record holder Willie Banks of the United States). Flag bearer of Brazil in the opening parade in Montreal 1976 and in Moscow 1980, João was the main idol of the Brazilian sport between 1975 and 1981.[4]
In 1981, he was in a car accident nearSão Paulo in which he lost one leg. Afterward, he became a vocal advocate for the rights of thedisabled. He died in 1999 from complications ofalcoholism.[4]
His world record was only broken almost ten years later, by the North AmericanWillie Banks, with 17.90 m, in Indianapolis, on June 16, 1985. His Brazilian and South American record was only broken more than twenty-one years later, byJadel Gregório, with 17.90 m, in Belém, on May 20, 2007 (who coincidentally was also an athlete of João do Pulo's former coach).[4]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Brazil | |||||
| 1972 | South American Junior Championships | Asunción, Paraguay | 1st | Triple jump | 14.67 m |
| 1974 | South American Championships | Santiago, Chile | 7th | High jump | 1.85 m |
| 3rd | Long jump | 7.17 m | |||
| 1st | Triple jump | 16.34 m | |||
| 1975 | South American Championships | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 40.8 s |
| 1st | Long jump | 7.66 m | |||
| 1st | Triple jump | 16.48 m | |||
| Pan American Games | Mexico City, Mexico | 4th | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.18 s | |
| 1st | Long jump | 8.19 m | |||
| 1st | Triple jump | 17.89 mWR | |||
| 1976 | Olympic Games | Montreal, Canada | 5th | Long jump | 8.00 m |
| 3rd | Triple jump | 16.90 m | |||
| 1977 | World Cup | Düsseldorf, West Germany | 1st | Triple jump | 16.68 m1 |
| South American Championships | Montevideo, Uruguay | 1st | Long jump | 7.95 m | |
| 1st | Triple jump | 16.40 m | |||
| 1979 | Pan American Games | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 1st | Long jump | 8.18 m |
| 1st | Triple jump | 17.27 m | |||
| World Cup | Montreal, Canada | 1st | Triple jump | 17.02 m1 | |
| 1980 | Olympic Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 12th (q) | Long jump | 7.78 m2 |
| 3rd | Triple jump | 17.22 m | |||
| 1981 | World Cup | Rome, Italy | 1st | Triple jump | 17.37 m1 |
| South American Championships | La Paz, Bolivia | 1st | Triple jump | 17.05 m | |
1Representing the Americas
2Did not start in the final
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Men's Triple Jump World Record Holder 15 October 1975 – 16 June 1985 | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | United Press International Athlete of the Year 1975 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| People | |
