Kevin Santos: Jiu-jitsu convert targets World Paras sprint medal in Paris

Kevin Santos has run personal bests in the 60m and 100m this year

Sprinter Kevin Santos believes a disciplined mindset developed while competing in jiu-jitsu can help him win a World Para Athletics medal in Paris.

The 20-year-old from Norwich is one of nine debutants in the Great Britain team for next month's event.

He will enter the T47 100 metres unofficially ranked fourth in the world after clocking 10.83 secs in May.

"Before I did martial arts, I didn't really have the focus that I do now," Santos told BBC Look East.

"I did a bit of MMA and jiu-jitsu and I stopped the running to pursue that for a year and a half.

"I think it was in 2021 that I entered the British [jiu-jitsu] Championships and came out with a silver. I've got talent there as well and I know if I want to pursue that, I could make it far as well.

"The mindset of doing a martial art humbles you and I've learnt from that."

Santos, who lives in Watton and runs for the City of Norwich club, said walking away from the track for a while made him "fall in love with the sport again".

But a lack of training time meant he fell short of his goal to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year.

"I saw my friend Emmanuel [Oyinbo-Coker] win the gold and that motivated me - to say [to myself], 'I could have done the same thing if I'd put in the time and effort'," he continued.

The World Para Athletics Championships will take place in the French capital from 8-17 July - the first time the event has been staged since 2019.

Santos' preparations could hardly have gone better - although there were a few anxious moments before the UK Indoor Championships' 60m final in Birmingham in February.

Kevin Santos pipped Zac Shaw to win the 60m UK indoor title at Birmingham in February

"I started off the year in Cyprus with Team England at a warm weather training camp and that went really well. I got some good numbers out there in the training sessions, and that's when I realised that I had the potential to win the 60 metres at the British Champs and break the record.

"I came back two weeks later, I raced in London - Lee Valley - and I broke the record [7.09 secs]. That was the first goal I wanted to achieve this year.

"When it came to the British Champs, I started to get a niggle in my hamstring and the confidence started to go down a little bit on the day. I was struggling to walk 15 minutes before the race, so the physio helped me out and I broke the record again [7.02] and I won."

He carried that form into the outdoor season, running an 11.3 personal best in his first race in April before producing his first sub-11 secs run, albeit wind-assisted, later in the day.

It has been a gradual progression since then, culminating in his best time of 10.83 at the Newham and Essex Beagles open meeting on 29 May.

Paris will be a different level, though, as not only will he be facing the world's elite, but he will also have to deal with an extra round of competition if he is to make his medal dream a reality.

'I want to be the best'

"Normally when I race, it's two rounds and in the first round I'm not 100% there. I get a bit annoyed at the performance and focus in on the second race and that's when I produce the best times," said Santos, whose parents originally came from Portugal and Spain.

"At the Worlds, it's going to be my first heats, semis and final. It is spread over two days and I do have a big gap between the semi-final and the final.

"I've just got to make sure I'm ready to put in 110% in the final race, because I know I have the potential to get a medal there."

Coach Mike Utting said Santos had come a long way in a short period of time and agreed the jiu-jitsu experience had been beneficial to his track career.

"He's more committed now. It has given him the discipline that was required. He always had the ability, always had the potential, although you had to explain to him sometimes about the opportunities that are there, and he's on his way," he told BBC Look East.

"When he's pushed, he can push and push harder. It's wonderful for him to be at that level."

Santos views the Championships as perfect preparation for next year's Paralympics, which will also take place in Paris.

"Everyone has that dream to make it as a professional in a sport, and especially to go to an Olympics and Paralympics," he added.

"It's a world stage, it's not a domestic meet any more. It's against the best in the world and I want to be the best in the world."

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