José Carlos Santana, also known as Santana, is a Brazilian former athlete who specialised in the marathon.

Santana, who was born in São Paulo, was a three-time winner of the Rio de Janeiro Marathon.

[1] He claimed a silver medal in the marathon at the 1991 Pan American Games, finishing two seconds behind Alberto Cuba.

He had a second-place finish at the 1993 Los Angeles Marathon, which was won by his training partner Joseildo Rocha.

[2] Santana is a cousin of marathon runner Marily dos Santos.