Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SANTIAGO, Chile — The 26-year-old Santiago Ford traveled 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) from his native Cuba to Chile in 2018 after a group of Chilean coaches visited the island. The decathlete had just placed fourth in the junior world championships, but he knew that that wasn't enough in his country. He flew from the island to Guyana, took a boat to Brazil, crossed the border with Peru and entered Chile through its north. Ford won a Pan American gold medal Tuesday night and became an overnight hero in the Andean nation.
