‘It’s more fun when you don’t know who’s going to win’ - Alison Dos Santos

He would have been too young to remember it, but he has the scars to show for it. And while it may have taken him time, Alison Dos Santos learnt to wear those scars proudly.Today, the Brazilian can lay claim to being a double Olympic medallist, a world champion, and the third fastest men's 400m hurdler in history.

He competes hard and with that flamboyance Brazilians are renowned and celebrated for.

Athletics has brought him fame and fortune, but it also helped him feel ‘comfortable in my own skin’ after having to battle through years of insecurity borne out of a horrific domestic accident which took place when he was only a 10-month-old infant.

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While living with his grandmother at the time, Dos Santos suffered severe burns after accidentally flipping over a pan containing hot oil.

In an instinctive attempt to come to his aid, his grandmother also suffered burns in the process, leaving both in need of hospitalization. After spending four months, including his first birthday, in a hospital bed recovering, Dos Santos was left with indelible reminders of the accident, in the form of scars on his forehead, scalp, face, chest, and left arm.

It understandably made him self-conscious about his appearance growing up, until athletics came into his life.

“Looking back to when I was a kid, when I was 8-10 years old, I remember I was really insecure about myself because of my accident. Because, when you are a kid, you don't understand everything,” Dos Santos explained during a call with reporters on Monday.

“I was like, ‘am I different? Can I fix this? What can I do to solve this problem?’ When I started to get older, I got more and more insecure. But when I started doing track and field, it helped me a whole lot. “And it's not just the sport, but the people in the sport that's amazing. When I started to train over there, they just, like, embraced me.”The message he received in that environment was clear. “They were like, ‘you don't have to be insecure, you don't have to be thinking about or hide it or anything or have any shame about it. “And I think I am able to share that with a bunch of people in the world,” he said.Along with Norway’s Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin of the United States, Dos Santos has forged a fascinating three-way rivalry that has elevated the men’s 400m hurdles to new levels.

At the delayed Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, the trio delivered the greatest final in the event’s history, with Warholm breaking his own world record on his way to winning the gold in 45.94 seconds, followed by Benjamin and Dos Santos.

Such was the standard that day that the three of them clocked the three fastest times ever in men’s 400m hurdles history, with all three running quicker than Kevin Young’s old world record (46.78s) which had stood for 29 years before it was eclipsed by Warholm only a month before the Tokyo Games. A year later at the world championships in Eugene, it was Dos Santos’s turn to shine, as the Brazilian bagged the gold ahead of Benjamin, setting a new meet record (46.29s, also his personal best) in the process. Then, at last year’s Paris Games, Benjamin would go on to dethrone Warholm as the Olympic champion, leaving the Norwegian to settle for silver with Dos Santos taking bronze once again. It’s a competitive rivalry alright, but a good-natured one too.

“We're just pretty chill about it,” said the 25-year-old Dos Santos. “We don't hate each other. We don't have beef. We can hang out, we can have funny moments when we see each other and everything. “An important thing we have talked about, I think it's just having all of us running fast at the same time was the best thing that could happen. Because if just one of us is running fast and the other two guys are not able to catch up, you'd be kind of comfortable in your own skin. “But once you have a lot of athletes, not just the three of us, the other ones running like 46 high, 47 low, you know you need to work harder every single day.“It's really amazing because you don't see just one of us winning. When you see a lot of people running fast and you don't know who's going to win, it's just more fun.“You get a little bit more excited because it's just amazing to be able to experience every single race, the whole stadium stops to watch, because at any time, the world record could be broken again.“So I think being able to share this experience with them is amazing and I love it. I wouldn't change it,” he added, admitting he was excited about returning to Tokyo for next month’s world championships. “That was where I ran my first 46. It’s where we saw the first ever 45,” he said, recalling the historic Olympic final of four years ago, which unfortunately unfolded in an empty stadium due to Covid-19. “Everyone’s in the best shape so we're going to be able to run fast and do something great over there.”Only this time, the fans will be present to show their appreciation.