RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Gigantic! With his height of 1.98 m and his long strides, Alison dos Santos, 21, performed a remarkable feat on Tuesday (2) at the Tokyo Olympics, winning bronze in the 400 meter hurdles. It was the first Brazilian medal in this event, as well as Brazil’s first in track and field at the Tokyo Olympics.
In a spectacular race where a world record was set, after a slow start, Alison came on strong once he hit his stride, especially in the last 30 meters, where he secured the Bronze medal with a time (46s72) that was only .02 seconds off the previous world record of 46s70, set in June by Norwegian phenomenon Karsten Warholm, Karsten won Gold, with a time of 45s94 that absolutely pulverized his own world record, which was also broken by the Silver medalist, American Raj Benjamin (46s17).
The first three Olympic places thus became three of the best four results in the history of the event, highlighting the competitive level of the final race. Alison, who is from São Joaquim da Barra (SP), a small town some 300 kilometers from the state capital, also lowered the South American record, which was already his.
The success of this young athlete – he is only 21 – has surprised the country, because he runs in an event in which Brazilian track and field does not have much tradition. He was the first athlete in the country to run the race in under 48 seconds. This season alone, he had already broken the South American record five times, before winning the unprecedented medal in Tokyo.
Alison manages to combine his physical abilities – his legs alone are 1.12 meters – with a rare talent. For example, when he turned 16, he began competing in the adult category. When he turned 18, he broke the South American U20 record.
When he was ten months old, he suffered a household accident. A frying pan with oil tipped over on him. He was hospitalized for months to treat third-degree burns on his head, shoulders, chest, and arms. The scars from that accident remain with him to this day. The most obvious is a flaw in his hair.
As a child, Alison tried to become a judoka. It was during this time that he received the nickname Piu. The boy exchanged the tatami for the running track, and today he is an Olympic medalist and a hero to Brazilian athletes.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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