Zac Shaw knows more than most that every millisecond counts on the Paralympic stage.

The 28-year-old pipped Brazil's Kelsey Teodoro to the men's T12 100m final by just 0.01 seconds at the Stade de France, taking the only automatic qualifying spot of the heat.

Paris 2024 marks the Loughborough University graduate's Paralympic debut after the heartbreak of missing out at Rio and Tokyo.

And having initially been told that he had finished second in France, it was an unexpected surprise for the sprinter who headed into the press area to hear that he had squeezed through to the final with a time of 11.15s.

"I guess one of the things about being visually impaired is that you can't see the screen so I got told I had come second," said Shaw, who is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – which has been vital on their pathway to the Paris 2024 Games.

"It wasn't until I got to the mixed zone, and someone said 'congratulations you've made the final' that I realised.

"I asked them to read the scoreboard three or four times to make sure.

"I haven't seen the race back yet, but a lot of people will watch this and think it was all on the day but that one hundredth of a second is hours and hours of training sessions, doing the rights thing and eating the right thing.

"I'm really proud of myself for the journey I've been on.

"It's almost sweeter that I only made the final by one hundredth because it just shows that I've really had to work for this."

The numbers always count on the track, with just one 'next fastest' spot available for the four-man final.

And with just one hundredth of a second separating Shaw and Teodoro, it was Shaw who snuck through, with the Brazilian not set to return for tomorrow's final.

Shaw will now face reigning world champion and world record holder Serkan Yildirim of Turkey in the final, with Yildirim and fastest qualifier Noah Malone of the USA the only two athletes to dip under 11 seconds in the French capital.

But with two world bronze medals to his name and a Paralympic debut now in the bag, Shaw is soaking up every moment in Paris.

"It's going to be more difficult than worlds this time," he said. "At the Paralympics every athlete comes here in the best shape of their life. So, I'm just looking forward to it.

"I've been waiting a long time for this moment.

"To be here, when I walked out I nearly got a bit emotional when i heard how loud the stadium was.

"From me being 16 years old and watching 2012 and now 12 years on seeing a packed-out stadium and being a part of it is really special."

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