Gabriel dos Santos Araujo, better known as ‘Gabrielzinho’ suffers from phocomelia, a malformation caused by the interruption of the development of one or more limbs during pregnancy. In his case, part of his shoulders and legs are atrophied, but he can walk with both feet.

As for swimming, he can do that as well… and as well as anybody in these Paralympic Games, it seems.

After topping the podium at the start of the competition on Thursday in the 100m backstroke in his category, the  Brazilian para-swimming star comfortably won his second gold on Saturday in the 50m backstroke S2, setting a new American record.

He clocked a time of 50.93 seconds, comfortably beating Russia's Vladimir Danilenko (57.54 seconds) and Chile's Alberto Caroly Abarza (58.12 seconds) and left the pool to loud cheers from the Arena La Défense crowd, who quickly made him one of their favourite swimmers after local hero Léon Marchand was the unquestioned men’s swimming sensation at last month’s Olympics.

The Brazilian flag-bearer, who has close to 150,000 followers on Instagram, has made it a habit to celebrate his victories by spurting water streams out of his mouth like a fountain, much to the crowd’s delight. It’s an artistic add-on of sorts, after becoming one of the stars of Tokyo 2020 by performing improv dance steps on the podium. On Thursday, besides his aquatic show, he debuted a new choreography to highlight his first Paris victory.

The 22-year-old’s life story is one of unparalleled achievements, with some quirky facts along the way, as his mother, Ineida Magda dos Santos, a retired teacher, recalled recently. “As we wanted him to have a normal childhood, we took him to a club that had a swimming pool. At the age of four he could already swim, even though he didn't have his arms,’ she told AFP. He then started competing as a teenager at the age of 13, without telling his parents, until his success gave him up. “He won five medals. Since then, he hasn't stopped,” his mother recalled.

In order to swim effectively, Gabrielzinho undulates his body in the water like a dolphin, using pelvic movements, a technique he perfected with his coach, Fabio Pereira Antunes. As for gruelling gym sessions, he works on exercises to strengthen his lower back, abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.

A frequent and popular social media handle, he uses other parts of his body when posting on Instagram, where he shares his thoughts on inclusion and his daily routine as a para athlete, by typing and controlling the phone screen with his toes, same as when he plays video games.

“It's wonderful. I know the responsibility I had, but I also knew what to do. And I did it,” he told the reporters upon winning his second gold on Saturday. As for carrying the flag during the opening ceremony, he labelled it “a unique moment in an athlete's life. That's why I feel very honoured to be able, in my second Paralympic Games, at such a young age, to achieve this great feat, which several athletes, great Brazilian athletes, have had the privilege of achieving.”

He then added that his intention was to make his country proud, both on the Paris streets and in the French capital’s pool. And three days after the fact, he can claim he has done just that in the global stage, becoming an undisputed phenomenon with still three more races to go.