Hear from Alison dos Santos in our Q&A with him following his bronze medal finish in the 400m hurdles at the Paris Olympics. The interview has been edited lightly for clarity and length.

CITIUS MAG: We’re here with Alison dos Santo, fresh off of signing with Grand Slam Track before the league launches in 2025. It’s just a couple of days after taking home your second Olympic medal of your career. How are you feeling?

Alison dos Santos: I’m feeling great after getting another medal. I’m really happy with that, just being able to be a part of something and really enjoy the moment. Just having fun.

CITIUS MAG: How did this Olympic final compare in terms of the emotions and buildup in Tokyo? Tokyo was like your coming out party. That's the race that put you on the map for a lot of people. Ever since then, all the fans love seeing races anytime it's you, Karsten, and Rai.

Alison dos Santos: I feel great about the race. I think the pressure of being part of the “Big Three” was like, “They're the podium, they'll have to battle.” We are just trying to fight, see who it’s going to be. There was too much in my head and I just felt pressure on me at that moment. I was able to just run and be really experienced. The whole moment was really cool. What we're doing with the event is really nice. I’m just trying to take out the pressure. We’re taking the event to another level.

CITIUS MAG: Clement Ducos came out of nowhere I felt like. Has he been someone on your radar? Because it was a really tight battle with you and him.

Alison dos Santos: We never race each other but I’ve watched him race. We watch other races, so we knew he could run fast. We knew he would be able to do something really great. And in Paris, he was at home.

CITIUS MAG: 80,000 people were all screaming for that one guy. Did you feel that?

Alison dos Santos: That was insane. I remember getting to the track in lane three. They were saying the names and there was this French guy… When you were running, you didn't hear the names – just noise.

CITIUS MAG: How are you feeling about this season? You got off to a great start. We had the Monaco Diamond League, we had the Olympics. What else do you want to accomplish this year?

Alison dos Santos: This year I want to leave the season feeling like I had fun. At the Games, it’s like, “go time” – just pressure on everything. Now I'm trying to chill a bit more and be like, “Let's go out there, have some fun, run, challenge guys.” That's the vibe and I just want to accomplish the happiness of being 24, just having fun.

CITIUS MAG: When you're so focused on the Olympics, it can feel heavy on your shoulders. Now that it's done, it's a massive relief. Do you feel that?

Alison dos Santos: Yeah, because it was a roller coaster for me going to the Olympic Games. I knew I was in good shape. But the hours before, I was freaking out because of the pressure that I was putting on myself. I feel like being able to come out of this place and get into the final feeling good, having fun, and being able to get into that situation. I'm proud of what we accomplished here, my team, everyone. It was a great experience and I’m just really happy with everything.

CITIUS MAG: The decision to sign and join Grand Slam Track: when the concept was first announced a couple of months back, what was your reaction to seeing all the news? What drew you to being interested in it?

Alison dos Santos: If I’m being honest with you, I was excited to see that Sydney [McLaughlin-Levrone] was the first one. You don't often see her going out to compete and you’ve got to compete more. I like to see track. I like to see athletes running. I was really excited that we're going to see Sydney running more. The whole system is really good: the prize money, the challenge. Being able to be challenged by someone in the open 400 is part of it as well. The whole thing is amazing, so I'm excited to be a part of it and see how it’s going to work.

CITIUS MAG: When was the last time you focused on the open 400? You’ve mastered the 400 hurdles, but when was the last time you scheduled it into your training?

Alison dos Santos: We don't start doing hurdles every single day, we do more flat preparation – so when you get to the hurdles, you’re already in shape. Then you can just do 12 steps, because 12 steps is not an easy thing to do. It’s something you have to practice. At the beginning of the season, I'm always going to be running some flat, some open 400s because I kind of like doing it when I don't have to. It’s not my event, I'm not trying to go to the World Championship in the open 400. So it’s like, ‘Let’s go have some fun.’ If I have to do it, the World Championships is not as fun. I just have fun with the open. It’s kind of weird for me because when you come around the bend, there’s no hurdle. It’s a fun race.

CITIUS MAG: Also, I feel like when you go up against a 400m specialist, they look at you like, ‘I can't get beat by that guy because he doesn't run the flat 400.’ You come out looking great if you beat some of the specialists.

Alison dos Santos: We know that the 400m hurdlers can run a good 400 open. We are not the best ones out there doing it because it’s a whole different event – the preparation, the practice. But we’re ready to run 44-low, 43-high, and I think that’s exciting. I want to run against Vernon. It’s one-one. I want to beat him. I want to get the best chance that I have. We might be running in Poland. If he's going to Poland, I'm just going to challenge him. That’s the vibe.

CITIUS MAG: When we look at the 400 hurdles, your Tokyo Olympics race stands out to so many people as one of the greatest races of all-time. Karsten and Rai, that’s still their PR. You’re the guy in that race who has continued to improve in the 400 hurdles. What do you credit that improvement to? What have you been working on this year?

Alison dos Santos: That's a good question. I was pretty young. I was 21 years old and was learning a bunch of things because I didn't have anything in 2020 because of the pandemic. I also got COVID. I didn’t compete, so I was just practicing, practicing, practicing. We went from 48 to 46 from one season to another… Just to learn a little bit every single year, like, ‘I can be faster at this hurdle, I can be faster there.’ Just trying to keep getting better.

CITIUS MAG: One thing that stood out to me was when you guys were in Monaco and they asked you guys, ‘Who's going to win this race?’ You made it clear that everyone was going to say themselves. For the fans, it's exciting. They should be in appreciation that all three of you guys are there.

When you look at the system for Grand Slam Track, the hope is that you get to face either Karsten or Rai down the road if they choose to go the same route. What do you get out of lining up against those guys?

Alison dos Santos: Just trying to understand what is going on in the event is insane. You need to bring your best every single moment. If we have Karsten and Benjamin, I need to bring my best. If I'm not at 101%, they're going to beat me. They're going to bring their best game. Also, the Olympic Games showed that it's not just me, Karsten, and Benjamin getting better and better. It’s the whole event. It just shows that the entire event has improved… You can’t just be like, “It’s going to be an easy win.” There’s no easy win.

CITIUS MAG: What should fans be most excited about now? The Olympics are over, there are still Diamond Leagues this year, and the Grand Slam is coming in 2025. What's your message for the fans?

Alison dos Santos: The best thing that happened in the Olympic Games was when I had this experience in Tokyo where everyone was watching everything. They didn't know anything about track or swimming or whatever. They were just like, ‘Okay, cool…” Just get into it and watch the Games. It's really good because if they fall in love right now, they're going to keep watching. They're going to show up… Seeing everyone get involved in the Olympic Games is really good. We have so much to offer. We have so much to show. So why not keep watching and having fun?

Who Else Has Signed With Grand Slam Track Thus Far:

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (June 18th)

Josh Kerr (June 27th)

Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse (Sept. 4th)

Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek (Sept. 12th)

Melissa Jefferson (Sept. 19th)

Masai Russell, Cyrena Samba Mayela and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (Sept. 25th)

Muzala Samukonga (Sept. 26)