Jerusa Geber secures gold medal in 100m race

Brazilian athlete Jerusa Geber, 42, clinched the gold medal in the 100m T11 (visually impaired) event on Tuesday (Sep. 3). Geber finished the race in 11.83 seconds. She outpaced China's Cuiqing Liu, who secured the silver with a time of 12.04 seconds, and Brazil's Lorena Spoladore, who earned bronze with a time of 12.14 seconds.

This was Geber’s first podium finish at the mega-event. Previously, she earned two silver and two bronze medals across three editions: Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Tokyo 2020.

Meanwhile, Lorena Spoladore secured her third Paralympic medal. She previously won silver in the 4x100m relay and bronze in the long jump, both at the Rio 2016 Games.

World record in the semi-finals

Geber set a new world record in the semi-final with a time of 11.80 seconds, surpassing her own previous record of 11.83 seconds set at the Paralympic CT in São Paulo.

Only four blind sprinters in history have completed the 100m in under 12 seconds. Alongside Geber, this achievement includes China's Cuiqing Liu and Guohua Zhou, and Great Britain's Libby Clegg. Two other Brazilian athletes have come close: Lorena Spoladore, who recorded 12.02 seconds in 2019, and Terezinha Guilhermina, who ran 12.10 seconds at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.

Jerusa Geber solidified her status as a leading sprinter in the T11 class during the last Paralympic cycle. Following her bronze medal in the 200m at Tokyo 2020, she went on to achieve gold in both the 100m and 200m at the Paris 2023 World Championships, as well as gold in the 100m and 200m at the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games. She also won gold in the 100m and bronze in the 200m at the Kobe 2024 World Championships.

*With information provided by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB).