Petrúcio Ferreira Dos Santos of Brazil Claims Third Straight Gold Medal in T47 100 Meters

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

Photos by USA Today Sports

Korban Best’s first Paralympic Games will be one to remember for a long time.

Not only did the native of Southlake, Texas earn a medal in his first Paralympic final on the first day from Stade de France, but Best also secured the United States’ first medal in the men’s 100-meter T47 event, running a personal best time of 10.75 seconds to earn silver.

“Truly blessed to have this experience and be out here and compete against the world’s best,” Best told NBC Sports’ Lewis Johnson following the race. 

“This is truly a once in a lifetime experience and I’ll cherish it forever.”

Best, who was born with ulnar dysplasia in his right hand, advanced his way into the final earlier in the day after running 10.78 in the first round to match his lifetime best. 

In the final, Best would line up two lanes to the left of world record holder and two-time Olympic gold medalist Petrúcio Ferreira Dos Santos of Brazil.

Best got a tremendous start from the gun ahead of Ferreira Dos Santos and the field, maintaining his lead for the first 80 meters.

Towards the very end, Ferreira Dos Santos accelerated right past Best to the line, securing his third consecutive gold medal in a season-best run of 10.68.

With Best’s performance as the top highlight of the day for the U.S., three world records headlined the first day of competition.  

Julio Cesar Agripino dos Santos of Brazil broke the world record in the men’s 5,000 T11 division, running 14:48.85 to claim gold.

Marousa Ibrahmi of Tunisia became the first woman in the F32 division history to hit 29.00 meters in the club throw, setting a new world en route to capturing gold.

Dongdong Di of China obliterated Lex Gillette’s T11 world record in the men’s long jump, going 6.85m to win the competition. 

The only other American running in a final, Jaleen Roberts, ran a season-best 27.99 to finish fourth in the women’s 200 T37 final.

Susannah Scaroni and Jenna Fesemyer of the U.S. both qualified for the final of the women’s 5,000 T54 division as Scaroni clocked a first-place time of 11:38.34 in heat one and Fesemyer clocked 13:33.73 in heat two, finishing fifth. Scaroni is the defending Olympic champion in the event.

Brian Siemann and Daniel Romanchuk are another pair of U.S. athletes heading into the 5,000 T54 final on the men's side after qualifying from their respective heats. Romanchuk was the gold medalist in the 400 T54 and bronzed medalist in the marathon T54 at the Tokyo Games.

Noah Malone, the Tokyo silver medalist for the U.S. in the men’s 100 T12 division, ran the fastest time of the qualifying round in 10.75 to advance to the final.