Etson Barros, national record holder in the 3000 meter steeplechase, suffered a traumatic brain injury after a car accident in the early hours of Thursday in the Algarve, but his health remains stable and his prognosis remains guarded.
Paulo Murta, the Benfica athlete’s coach, explained to the Lusa agency that the accident occurred about 500 meters from Pechão, in the municipality of Olhão, the city where he lives and to which he was returning after watching a football game and playing video games with friends, in Chaveca, in the parish of Estoi, in the municipality of Faro.
“He wasn’t coming from Lisbon, he had been watching a game and playing Playstation, in Chaveca, and was returning to his home, in Olhão. It’s about four kilometers”, he clarified, contradicting the version that he was returning to Lisbon when his car crashed.
Paulo Murta told Lusa, on Thursday, that, after the rollover, the vehicle was resting on its side, with the driver’s door close to the ground, and Etson Barros was still conscious, with the coma having been induced by the medical teams at the hospital in Faro, where no fracture was detected.
“Etson has been with me since he was eight years old, he’s 25. And from eight to 25 there’s a lot going on,” said the coach, ensuring that “the first concern is his recovery”, adding that the medical services of the Portuguese Athletics Federation and Benfica are in contact with the teams at the hospital in Faro, where he was admitted after the accident.
Paulo Murta also revealed that the national champion of the 3000 meter hurdles had planned to start a cycle of altitude training on May 3rd and then “enter the summer competitive framework”, but “everything has already been cancelled” due to an accident.
“When he enters an induced coma, within the next 5/6 months to a year, he cannot go to altitude or travel on planes”, he explained, stressing that, “in addition to a coaching relationship”, he has “a friendly relationship” with Etson Barros.
Paulo Murta said he was at the scene of the accident and that it appeared to him that there had been no speeding, also ensuring that the analyzes did not detect alcohol in the athlete’s blood.
Etson Barros, 25 years old, was the national champion of the 3000 meter hurdles in the last five years and won the silver medal in the same discipline at the under-23 European Championships in 2021 and 2023, having also won bronze at the under-20 European Championships in 2019.
In addition, it has participated in the Tokyo 2025 World Cups, as well as the Munich 2022 and Rome 2024 European Championships.
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