Superhuman Swimmer With No Arms Shatters His Own Record In Paralympics Backstroke Final

Zheng Tao might just be one of the most incredible athletes to walk the face of the earth.

The Chinese swimmer has smashed his own backstroke world record to clinch an emphatic gold medal at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

But he wasn't done there either.

30-year-old Zheng then went on to win another gold in the 50m butterfly S5 event, bringing in his Paralympic medals total to a whopping eight.

And it seems highlights of his backstroke victory have now gone viral for all the right reasons.

In a video posted online by Paralympics broadcaster Channel 7, Zheng - who lost his arms as a child in a freak electric shock accident - can be seen hanging off a piece of material by his teeth in order to get his rapid start.

Still holding on with his jaw, Zheng then flung himself back when the claxon sounded and dived backwards into the pool.

When he finally rose from under the water, he has already secured a huge lead over the chasing back.

Zheng didn't rest on his strong start though, kicking his legs at great speeds to push his body through the water and extend his gaping lead even further.

With no arms to help him, the sheer power he manages to generate with just his legs is remarkable.

But while his Chinese teammate did ever so well to keep up with him initially, Zheng entered into a another gear entirely in the final few strokes of the race.

Powering forward, the elite swimmer finally touched the wall with a time of 31.42 seconds, shattering his own world record in the process.

Realising just what he'd achieved, clinching gold across three Paralympic Games, Zheng let out a big roar of relief.

Even his ability to tread water with no arms to support him is amazing when you think about it.

Footage of his race instantly went viral on social media with fans across the globe heaping praise on his superhuman performance.

Channel 7's clip on Facebook alone garnered almost 750,000 views in less than two days.

What a performance.

What an athlete.