Rafael Santos

Rafael Antonio Santos Cisneros (born 13 June 1944) is a Salvadoran sprinter and decathlete. He initially practiced sports such as basketball and football though switched to sprinting due to his short stature. After a year of training in the sport, he would become a national and Central American Champion. He would switch coaches in 1966 though returned to his old coach after he had failed to medal at the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games.

Santos was part of the first delegation for El Salvador at the Olympic Games, where he competed in the men's 100 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He would fail to medal though continued training, switching to the decathlon and competed at the 1970 Central American and Caribbean Games and 1973 Central American Games, winning a bronze medal in the latter.

Outside of sport, he would study agricultural engineering, business administration, and physical education at multiple universities. After his agricultural engineering studies, he would work at the Ministry of Agriculture agrometeorologist. At the Evangelical University of El Salvador, he was a professor. Santos then became a sports coach at Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo and the Salvadorian Athletics Federation.

Biography Rafael Antonio Santos Cisneros was born on 13 June 1944 in Nueva Granada, El Salvador. When he was younger, he initially practiced basketball and football though left due to his short stature. He would then travel to Flor Blanca in San Salvador in 1963 and would be coached by Juan Véliz.

After a year of training, he became the national and Central American Champion. In the lead-up to the games, Santos stated that he had to pay USD$120 just to go to the games. They had to travel through planes owned by the Salvadoran Air Force. He attributed his poor performance due to a hamstring injury that he had sustained. After the games, Santos would continue training but would not qualify for the 1972 Summer Olympics. Instead, he switched to the decathlon, competing at the 1970 Central American and Caribbean Games and 1973 Central American Games, winning a bronze medal in the latter.

International competitions

Personal bests 100 metres – 10.8 (1964)