Tokyo, Sep 16 (AP) – Twenty-four years ago in Brazil, a pan of scalding oil tipped, spilling its contents onto a 10-month-old baby named Alison dos Santos. Quick thinking by his grandfather, who rushed him to the hospital, played a critical role in saving Alison's life. The third-degree burns left permanent scars on his face, forehead, chest, and arms — physical reminders of an event he can't remember but can never forget.
This week, dos Santos competes in the world championships for the 400-meter hurdles in Tokyo, a marquee event featuring Olympic champions, world record holders, and world champions like himself. Competing against top-tier athletes, dos Santos thrives on such challenges, embracing a sport that once offered him a second chance when he was insecure about his scars, which for a while, he believed defined him.
“It was the environment, the friendship, the love they were able to give to me that helped me get through this,” dos Santos shared in a recent interview with the podcast Ready, Set, Go. He spoke about the support he received from the track and field community near his hometown of São Joaquim da Barra, which gave him strength when he couldn't bring himself to ask for it.
Growing up, dos Santos frequently questioned, “Am I different? Can I fix this? What can I do to solve this problem?” As a teenager, the scars became a focal point, even exploited in arguments by friends who knew their words would sting. “They're just saying what they see. They're not understanding what that could mean to someone,” he recalled in another recent interview. Yet, over time, he understood that his sense of self would always be linked to the burns.
His friends on the track team saw a different persona beyond the scars — a kind, humorous young man with an interest in others and a remarkable talent for running. This perspective helped dos Santos forge a different path in life.
Now, dos Santos travels the globe, collecting medals and playing a key role in one of the greatest ongoing stories in the world of athletics. The 400-meter hurdles, a blend of speed, technique, and endurance, was revolutionized by Edwin Moses decades prior. Today, however, dos Santos, alongside fierce rivals like Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin, are achieving astonishing feats with better training methods and advanced shoe technology.
Unlike Moses' era, when he strung together 122 consecutive victories from 1977 to 1987, the current landscape sees dos Santos, Warholm, and Benjamin sharing the podium. Benjamin captured gold at the 2021 Olympics in Paris, while Warholm clinched the 2023 world championship in Budapest, succeeding dos Santos, who won it the previous year in Eugene, Oregon. Their rivalry even saw all three create history at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, with Warholm surpassing his own world record in a race that also saw Benjamin and dos Santos post times that in another era would have set new benchmarks.
When asked about the advancements in hurdle racing, dos Santos attributes significant progress not to technological innovations but to fellow competitor Abderrahman Samba of Qatar. Samba broke new ground by being the first athlete since 1992 to crack 47 seconds, a feat that shifted the ambitions of dos Santos and others. “The first time Samba broke 47, I think he switched something for everybody,” said dos Santos. “When you see someone doing it 20 years ago you say OK, that was 20 years ago, nobody's doing that now.' But when you see Samba doing that, you think I've got to train harder. You're no longer dreaming about low-48 and thinking you might get a medal.”
Samba remains competitive, ranked fourth behind the leading trio who have dominated recent major events. Inspired by Samba, dos Santos aspires to motivate others. He recognizes the link between overcoming personal hurdles in life and the literal hurdles he faces on the track, hoping his journey resonates with others. “I think I'm able to share with a bunch of people in the world, and especially Brazilians, that everyone is unique, everyone's special in their own way,” dos Santos remarked. “And you can achieve great things no matter how hard things are in your life. You can work on it and try to get better.” (AP) AM AM AM
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