Ricardo dos Santos (athlete)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ricardo dos Santos
Athletics
Event400 metres
Coached byClarence Callender (–2012)
Linford Christie (2012–)[1]

Vítor Ricardo dos Santos Soares[2] (born 18 December 1994), known as Ricardo dos Santos, is a Portuguese sprinter specialising in the 400 metres.[3] He won a bronze medal at the 2018 Ibero-American Championships. He reached the 400m final at the 2018 European Championships, setting a Portuguese national record of 45.14 in the semifinals.

Personal life

Ricardo Dos Santos is single however has a child with Bianca Williams born 2020. As of December 2023, he also works as an "Amazon delivery driver alongside his [athletics] training".[4]

Dos Santos was stopped by police in July 2020, later claiming the officers were racist. He also made a complaint about the officers’ conduct. The officers were cleared of misconduct, before a misconduct hearing was directed by the IOPC. In August 2022, Dos Santos was accused of failing to stop quickly enough for armed police.[5] In October 2023, two officers were dismissed as a result of their actions in the 2020 incident because they lied about being able to smell cannabis. The search itself was not proven to be inappropriate and allegations of racism were also not proven.[6][7]

The police misconduct panel who considered the 2020 incident deemed Dos Santos to be a 'reasonably credible witness' and also someone who 'did not willingly concede to an alternative viewpoint'. As an example, when Dos Santos was asked if his behaviour influences the way he is treated he said "I can behave as I like in the face of anybody. If I'm being mistreated, I deem it's appropriate as anybody to act in any way". The panel separately stated that they were not persuaded by Dos Santos' evidence about the capabilities of his Tesla vehicle, when he said it had automatically manoeuvred its way around a police vehicle to prevent a collision. Evidence suggested that Dos Santos' Tesla vehicle did not have such a capability.[7]

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Portugal
2012 World Junior Championships
Barcelona, Spain
52nd (h) 400 m 48.93
2014 European Championships
Zürich, Switzerland
7th (sf) 400 m 45.74
2015 European U23 Championships
Tallinn, Estonia
10th (h) 400 m 46.51
4 × 100 m relay DQ
2018 Mediterranean Games
Tarragona, Spain
7th 400 m 46.64
European Championships
Berlin, Germany
7th 400 m 45.78
Ibero-American Championships Trujillo, Peru 3rd 400 m 46.45
2021 European Indoor Championships
Toruń, Poland
41st (h) 400 m 48.06
Olympic Games
Tokyo, Japan
39th (h) 400 m 46.83
2022 Ibero-American Championships
La Nucía, Spain
11th (h) 400 m 47.16
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:07.23
European Championships
Munich, Germany
10th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:03.59
2024 World Indoor Championships
Glasgow, United Kingdom
4th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:06.571
Ibero-American Championships
Cuiabá, Brazil
10th (h) 400 m 47.07

1Disqualified in the final

Personal bests

Outdoor

Indoor

References

  1. ^ "Power of 10 profile". Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  2. ^ Portugueses | Tóquio 2020 | PÚBLICO
  3. ^ Ricardo dos Santos at World Athletics Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  5. . Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  6. ^ Editor, Matt Lawton, Chief Sports Correspondent | Fiona Hamilton, Crime (29 October 2023). "Met Police's treatment of Bianca Williams and Ricardo dos Santos was wrong, says Sir Keir Starmer" – via www.thetimes.co.uk. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ a b "Met Police Website - Report on panel's findings and outcome".