'Lightning strikes three times' for world's fastest Paralympian

The world's fastest Paralympian Petrucio Ferreira dos Santos said "lightning has struck for the third time" after he sprinted to his third Paralympic gold medal in the men's T47 100m at the Paris Games on Friday.

Double defending champion Ferreira, who lost his left arm below the elbow aged two after an accident with a grinding machine, won in a photo finish in cold and wet conditions at the Stade de France.

He clocked a season-best 10.68sec, seven hundredths of a second ahead of silver medallist Korban Best of the USA, with Morocco's Aymane El Haddaoui a further 0.03sec 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 won gold medals in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 and smashed the para-world record in 2022 when he posted a time of 10.29sec.

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

But the cheery Brazilian did not let the miserable weather and far-from-ideal sprinting conditions get him down.

"It's time to have fun," he said. "The final is the most fun moment."

After Ferreira claimed gold in Tokyo three years ago, he shared a dance with his fellow Brazilian competitors and hoped to do the same thing with fellow finalists Washington Junior and Lucas Sousa Pereira this time around.

Ferreira, who is from the northeastern state of Paraiba, joked after his first round race about what music he and his compatriots would hopefully be dancing to after the 2024 final.

"Maybe we'll put on some brega funk," he mused. "Maybe forro, 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 there, jump here. Everyone gets it right and it's done."

After the final, a smiling Ferreira, with a Brazil flag draped over his shoulders and a chapeu de couro (a cowboy-style hat typical of Brazil's northeast) perched on his head, said he had made his decision on the music.

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