Rocha registered a stunning throw of 8.73 metres, one centimetre longer than the previous record Mexico’s Mauro Máximo de Jesús set at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

"I got the mark right on the first try," the 51-year-old said.

"I was feeling good, but also a little bit anxious.

"It seemed like the first time I was going to compete in a shot put event.

"It was good that I got a good mark."

Rocha headed a string of high-quality performances on a thrilling day at the Icaro de Castro Melo Stadium.

Cuba’s Omara Durand shone in the women's 200 metres T12 with a 2018 world-leading time of 23.70sec.

Also moving to the top of this year’s world rankings was Ethiopian long-distance runner Tamiru Demisse, who crossed the line in the men's 1500m T13 in 3min 56.13sec.

Chilean Ignacio Sepulveda, meanwhile, was the gold medallist in the men’s 1500m T46 with a time of 4:05.39.

Brazil continued their dominance in the long jump events as Silvania Costa de Oliveira claimed gold in the women's T11 with a leap of 4.80m.

It was Costa de Oliveira’s first competition since giving birth last year.

Her brother Ricardo Costa Oliveira made it a double win for the family, topping the men's event standings with a mark of 6.22m.

Rodrigo Parreira prevailed in the men’s long jump T36 with 5.21m, while Mateus Evangelista led the men’s long jump T37 rankings with a leap of 6.22m.

The home nation also had reason to celebrate in the field.

World and Paralympic champion Alessandro Rodrigo dominated the men's discus throw F11 with the best performance in the world in 2018, managing a distance of 43.17m.

Additionally, men’s shot put F57 world champion Thiago Paulino was just one centimetre shy of his personal best with a throw of 14.65m.  

Action in São Paulo is due to conclude tomorrow. 

More than 230 Para-athletes are competing at the event which doubles as the 2018 Loterias Caixa Athletics Open Championships.

It is the second World Para Athletics Grand Prix leg of the year.