Granichka finished in 1min 25.13sec, beating Antoni Ponce Bertran by 1.40 seconds in the race and eclipsing the Spaniard’s previous world record by 0.33 seconds.

The 24-year-old had earlier broken the Paralympic record in the first qualifying heat by more than three seconds with a time of 1:28.20.

He arrived at Tokyo 2020 with a long list of honours to his name, including five podium finishes at each of the World Para Swimming Championships and European Championships.

At the World Championships in London in 2019, Granichka triumphed in the SB5 100m breaststroke and SM6 200m individual medley, as well as winning a silver medal in the S6 400m freestyle - the same colour medal he won on his international debut at Glasgow 2015 alongside a bronze in the SB5 100m breaststroke.

More recently, in May 2021 at the delayed European Championships in Funchal in Portugal, Granichka won the S6 50m butterfly and SM6 200m individual medley titles, as well as silvers in the S6 400m freestyle, SB5 100m breaststroke and mixed 4x50m medley 20 points relay.

A gold medal on his Paralympic debut can now take pride of place alongside those achievements.

Granichka had earned his maiden Paralympic medal earlier at Tokyo 2020, finishing second in the SM5 200m individual medley.

He took up Para swimming in his home city of Sevastopol in 2005, and cites his parents and his coach Irina Mashchenko as big influences.

The new Paralympic champion’s training routine consists of three to five hours of workouts six days a week.