'Devastation' for defending champ as 100m sprint leader falls metres from finish line, comes last

The Stade de France track went from ecstasy to heartbreak in just a few strides for one luckless Paralympic runner.

Brazil's Lisbeli Marina Vera Andrade appeared to be leading about halfway through the women's 100m T47 final when something went horribly wrong.

Pain spread across the 22-year-old's face as she stumbled, appearing to have torn a muscle or suffered a cramp in her quad.

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She attempted to fight on but dropped quickly towards the back of the pack.

And barely 10 metres from the finish line, Vera Andrade could go on no longer and fell to the ground.

While her hair did cross the line, the rest of her body failed to and she lay on the track screaming in pain and clutching her leg.

"The favourite is gone," David Culbert said on Nine.

"(Vera Andrade) has gone down, I'm not sure she even got to the line.

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"That was dramatic.

"That is devastation for the defending champion. It's hard to know what the issue is, maybe hip flexor?"

She was taken away from the track in a wheelchair as Ecuador's Kiara Rodriguez celebrated her win.

The USA's Brittni Mason finished second and New Zealand's Anna Grimaldi claimed the bronze.

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