Douglas De Souza
BRAMenDouglas de Souza (6 August 1972 – 13 December 1998) was a Brazilian track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. He represented his country at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics and the 1996 Summer Olympics, competing in the qualifying rounds only. Born in São Bernardo do Campo, he grew into a tall and muscular athlete at 1.94 m and 88 kg.
De Souza was a three-time winner at the Brazilian Athletics Championships, taking wins in 1994, 1996 and 1998. His jumps of 8.20 m (26 ft 10+3⁄4 in) then 8.29 m (27 ft 2+1⁄4 in) were championship record marks. His lifetime best of 8.40 m (27 ft 6+1⁄2 in), achieved in São Paulo on 15 February 1995, is the Brazilian national record for the long jump and was a South American record at the time, standing until 2006, at which point it was beaten by Panamanian Irving Saladino.
He enjoyed international success at the 1994 IAAF World Cup, taking silver behind Fred Salle, and at the 1995 South American Championships in Athletics, where his winning jump of 8.05 m (26 ft 4+3⁄4 in) was a championship record that stood for a decade. He ranked seventh on the global lists for the 1995 season and remained in the top twenty in 1996 with a best of 8.29 m (27 ft 2+1⁄4 in). His life and career were cut short as he died in a car accident at the age of twenty-six in 1998.