Twenty-two-year-old Brazilian Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo will be aiming for a triple gold medal in Paris (28 August - 8 September) after winning two golds and a silver at the Tokyo 2020 Games three years ago.

"My name is Gabrielzinho and I'm going to win three gold medals at the Paralympic Games in Paris," declared the young swimmer with a broad smile, before receiving a kiss on the forehead from Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at an official ceremony held last month in Brasília, the capital of South America's largest and most populous country.

When he's not swimming in the pool in Juiz de Fora, in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais, 270 km south of the capital Belo Horizonte, Gabrielzinho cultivates his popularity on Instagram, where he has 50,000 followers. As he has no hands or arms, he uses his toes to navigate the screen of his phone.

Born in Santa Luzia, Minas Gerais, on 16 March 2002, he enjoys swimming in the pool and surfing the internet, especially social media, as well as playing football video games, which he also plays with his toes.

Nothing comes easy for this Brazilian "giant". To eat, for example, he has to bend down to pick up food from the plate with his mouth, and after meals he places an electric toothbrush between his toes to brush his teeth.

"I've lost count of the obstacles I have to overcome every day, but it only makes me stronger," the resilient para-athlete told AFP.

"What impressed me most at first was his skill outside the pool. He has great motor coordination and is very intelligent, which allows him to overcome all these obstacles every day," said his coach, Fabio Pereira Antunes.

"And when I saw him in the water, I discovered all his potential. He has a champion's mentality and knows how to handle pressure," added his coach.

Gabrielzinho suffers from phocomelia, a deformity caused by stunted development of one or more limbs during pregnancy. In his case, the Brazilian has stumps on his shoulders and atrophied legs, but can walk on both feet.

"I found out when I was five months pregnant. It was a shock, of course, but then I started reading up on the subject so that I would be prepared to take care of him as best I could," says his mother, Ineida Magda dos Santos, a retired teacher.

"We wanted him to have a normal childhood, so we took him to a club with a pool. When he was four or five, he could swim, even though he had no arms. I think it's a gift from God," marvels his mother.

To swim, Gabrielzinho flies through the water like a dolphin, using movements of his pelvis. This technique was developed during long training sessions six times a week, from Monday to Saturday.

He trains not only in the pool but also outdoors with muscle-strengthening exercises, focusing on the lumbar vertebrae, abdominal muscles and pelvic floor.

Gabrielzinho discovered competitive swimming at the age of 13, in 2015, during a school competition.

"A teacher signed him up without asking me, and he won five medals. He hasn't stopped since," his mother says proudly.

The Brazilian achieved glory at Tokyo 2020 at the age of just 19, demonstrating extraordinary mental strength after receiving the devastating news of his grandfather's death just days before the Asian Paralympics.

He began his medal haul in Tokyo with a silver, finishing second in the 100m backstroke S2 (the category for swimmers with the most severe disabilities). Interestingly, his grandfather was nicknamed 'pratinha' (little silver).

He then climbed to the top of the podium twice at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, in the 50m and 200m freestyle S2 events. Each time he performed a celebratory dance, one of his trademarks.

At the recent Santiago 2023 Para Pan American Games, Gabrielzinho capped off his successful campaign for Chile by winning five gold medals (50m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke and 200m freestyle), earning him the title of Brazil's Para Athlete of the Year - a significant achievement given thatBrazil is a Pan American powerhouse and the leading medal-winning nation at the 2023 Paralympics.

His goals in Paris: to defend his two Paralympic titles, "turn his silver medal in the 100m backstroke into gold" and "dance a lot" with a new choreography that he prefers to keep secret.