PARIS: Italy's Maxcel Amo Manu set the pace when the amputee sprinters strapped on their blades and roared into the Paralympics on Sunday as social media sensation Hunter Woodhall scraped into the final.
Manu, who won the world title last year, set a new Paralympic record of 10.69sec to lead all qualifiers in the men's T64 100m at the Stade de France.
Woodhall had to run flat out to finish third from the outside lane in a time of 11.02sec and book his place in Monday's final.
The 25-year-old American is one half of an Olympic-Paralympic super couple with his wife Tara Davis-Woodhall, who was crowned Olympic women's long jump champion in the same stadium just weeks ago.
The couple's Instagram account charting their adventures at the Olympics and their life since has more than 570,000 followers.
"My first three steps were really great so we'll clean it up tomorrow," Woodhall told reporters.
He said he had been training with his wife running in the lane next to him "to feel that pressure."
Woodhall, who was given a special roar from the 50,000 crowd at the Stade de France when he was introduced, said: "It's just so special that the Paralympics are getting this much excitement and hype. I'm just glad people showed up and I'm hoping to give them a good show tomorrow."
He said his wife, who won the long jump at the Rome Diamond League meeting on Friday, will be in the crowd on Tuesday: "She wouldn't miss it."
Britain's Jonnie Peacock, a two-time champion in the event, also progressed after finishing third in the first heat won by Sherman Isidro Guity of Costa Rica in 10.72sec.
Peacock, 31, clocked 10.93 just behind reigning champion Felix Streng of Germany.
The Briton has had a torrid three years with injuries since winning the bronze medal in Tokyo in 2021 but insisted he could run faster.
"It's a shame I'm not in front of them all because I should be," he said.--AFP