Sunday, November 5th, 2023.- The story of Santiago Ford has become one of the most remarkable ones at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. Representing Chile, the decathlete won the event that includes 10 disciplines and handed the locals a gold medal they hadn't achieved since the first edition of the continental event in Buenos Aires in 1951 when Hernán Figueroa stood at the top of the podium.

Ford was not born in Chile but in Cuba. However, he found in this country what he didn't have in his home nation: the opportunity to showcase and develop his talent. He has said it himself; on the Caribbean island, especially after finishing fourth in the 2016 Junior World Championships in Poland, he felt he wasn't given the necessary space to excel.

In 2018, influenced by a Chilean coach, he decided to emigrate. His journey before arriving in Santiago was not straightforward, including stops in Guyana, Brazil, Peru, and a walk through the Chilean desert across minefields. Once settled in his new home and competing for the local federation, he had to wait until late 2022 to be granted citizenship, a process in which he received support from two former athletes who are now parliamentarians, Senator Sebastián Keitel and Deputy Erika Olivera.

There were tough moments during that period, times when he considered giving up on his dream and seeking new horizons to fulfill his sporting goals. The arrival of his son changed things and gave him a new drive, a reason to keep fighting.

"I am happy because we achieved a childhood dream. We managed to meet the goals we had set for this championship, and I am happy because the Chilean people supported me from start to finish," he said after unexpectedly winning a gold medal, the seventh for the hosts in these Pan American Games.

When crossing the finish line of the 1,500 meters, the last event of the decathlon, he wanted to make a gesture that would remind him and the audience of everything he went through to reach that moment. He decided to walk to the end of the event.

"I stopped because I remembered when I was walking through the desert at five-thirty in the morning, standing there not knowing what to do, but with a clear goal, which was to get here. And those last 10 meters were a reflection of that dawn, dehydrated, but in my heart and in my mind, I knew I wanted to be here, in this moment," he recalled.

The gold and recognition achieved in Santiago 2023 are just another step in the plans of the 26-year-old athlete. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are next, and he has set a new goal: to qualify and make it to the final.

Nota: Santiago Ford knows about challenges and how to overcome them.
Photo by Heuler Andrey / Santiago 2023 / Photosport