Lightning strikes three times for world’s fastest Paralympian

The world’s fastest Paralympian, Petrucio Ferreira dos Santos, declared “Lightning has struck for the third time” after securing his third Paralympic gold medal in the men’s T47 100m at the Paris Games on Friday.

The double defending champion Ferreira, who lost his left arm below the elbow at age two due to an accident with a grinding machine, clinched victory in a photo finish amid cold and wet conditions at the Stade de France.

He clocked a season-best 10.68 seconds, seven-hundredths of a second ahead of silver medallist Korban Best of the USA, with Morocco’s Aymane El Haddaoui a further 0.03 seconds behind in third.

“I’m happy; lightning has struck for the third time at the Paralympic Games, and I’m coming home with another medal,” Ferreira said.

“That’s three golds now at the Paralympics. It’s an emotion that’s hard to describe.”

The 27-year-old Brazilian previously won gold medals in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 and set the para-world record in 2022 with a time of 10.29 seconds.

Ferreira had qualified for the final by finishing second in his heat, behind Best, under grey skies and drizzle at the Stade de France.

Despite the gloomy weather and challenging conditions, the upbeat Brazilian remained undeterred.

“It’s time to have fun,” he said. “The final is the most fun moment.”

Following his gold medal win in Tokyo three years ago, Ferreira celebrated with a dance alongside his fellow Brazilian competitors and hoped to do the same with finalists Washington Junior and Lucas Sousa Pereira this time around.

Ferreira, from the northeastern state of Paraíba, joked about the music they might dance to after the 2024 final.

“Maybe we’ll put on some brega funk,” he mused. “Or perhaps forró, something from the northeast. But I don’t know if (Washington, who is from Rio) will know it.

“It’s classic… It’s easier to dance to. Jump here, jump there. Everyone gets it right, and it’s done.”

After the final, a smiling Ferreira, draped in a Brazilian flag and wearing a chapéu de couro (a cowboy-style hat typical of Brazil’s northeast), revealed he had decided on the music.

“I had to go for a bit of forró, which is part of my origins from the northeast. It’s a type of music I listen to a lot, even before I entered the competition.”

AFP