Alison dos Santos is the new world record holder in the 400-meter hurdles. The Brazilian won the Zurich stop of the Diamond League on Thursday (27) in 45.80 seconds, taking down the 45.94 mark that Norway's Karsten Warholm had set at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, according to Folha de S.Paulo and AFP.
Piu, as the 26-year-old from São Joaquim da Barra, in São Paulo state, is known, crossed the finish line at Letzigrund Stadium ahead of Warholm himself, who settled for second in 46.69. Nigeria's Ezekiel Nathaniel rounded out the podium in 47.50. The performance earned Alison a bonus of US$ 80,000 for breaking the record.
The win grew out of patience. Warholm is famous for exploding out of the blocks and building a lead over the early hurdles, and Alison ran glued to him until the final bend. Only then, on the home straight, did the Brazilian accelerate at full throttle and pull away at once, with the crowd on its feet sensing the record. For casual fans: the 400m hurdles punishes anyone who goes out too fast, because the legs tie up over the last barriers; saving energy for the home straight is what settles duels between favorites.
"I did it! I did it!", the athlete shouted as he saw the time on the board. Asked whether he believed he could break the record, he answered without hesitation: "I did believe it! As soon as I knew I was coming here, I got excited. The weather is good and the track is amazing."
Alison is the first Brazilian to hold a world record in a track event in athletics. Before him, only Adhemar Ferreira da Silva, Nelson Prudêncio and João Carlos de Oliveira, known as João do Pulo, in the triple jump, and Ronaldo da Costa, in the marathon, had held world marks for the country.
The record crowns the best stretch of the São Paulo native's career. According to InfoMoney, he has won all five head-to-head races against Warholm this season and already owns world championship gold from 2022, silver from 2025 and Olympic bronzes from 2021 and 2024. At 26, Piu is no longer chasing anyone's mark: the mark now belongs to him.