After breaking the world record in the 400m hurdles last Thursday at the Diamond League in Zurich, Switzerland, Alison dos Santos made history in Brazilian athletics. The Brazilian beat the previous record by Norwegian Karsten Warholm by 14 hundredths of a second, set in the final of the Tokyo-2020 Games, held in 2021, which was 45.94. With this, Alison became the first Brazilian world record holder in track athletics.
Alison dos Santos joins Karsten Warholm as the only athletes in the history of the event to have achieved a time in the 45-second range. Brazil had previously achieved world records in athletics in two other events, both in field events: triple jump, with Adhemar Ferreira da Silva, and another that was not fully mentioned in the article.
Beyond the magnitude of the sporting achievement, Alison dos Santos' English caught attention on social media. The naturalness and fluency with which he spoke the language when commenting on the record surprised users, who praised his communication and highlighted how his words were considered impeccable.
The Brazilian's feat was widely celebrated by both the public and athletics experts, who recognized the historical importance of the achievement not only for Brazilian sport but also for the discipline worldwide.
