
When the pan of scalding oil tipped and splattered across 10-month-old Alison dos Santos, his grandfather scooped him up, barged through the front door and sprinted to the hospital – a burst of speed and quick thinking that played a key role in saving the baby’s life.
The scars on his face, forehead, chest and arms from those third-degree burns are the permanent memories of a day 24 years ago that the Brazilian hurdles champion doesn’t remember, but one he can never forget.