Athens - Big Fanie Lombaard was the sensation at the opening of athletics action when he threw a golden world record in the shot put to mark his sixth Paralympic gold medal in Athens.
Swimmer Natalie du Toit clinched a world record gold in the pool in the 100m butterfly.
"This has been my most fantastic experience," enthused Lombaard as he clutched the heavy golden medal to his chest.
"These Paralympics are like coming home. The Greeks treated me fabulously. It was awesome out there.
It's been my best experience by far."
Du Toit, also a leg-amputee, is set to be a major sensation of the Paralympics in seven events.
She got her debut Paralympics campaign off to an explosive start by breaking her world record that she swam in the morning heats to win the gold medal in 1:07.54.
"This is truly a great feeling," said the Cape Town swimmer. "It's a good start for me."
Lombaard struck gold in the competition for leg amputees with his first heave that hit the turf at 13.81 metres, beating his own world record of 13.52m that he threw in Durban in March.
He beat Bulgaria's Viktor Khilmonchyk who heaved a personal best 13.19.
"I would have liked to have hit 14 metres, but man, what the heck, it's a world record and a Paralympic gold. I feel fantastic."
As jubilant as he was in this, his third Paralympics, the day could have been a disaster for the likeable big 35-year-old from Pretoria.
"I was so zoned in for this competition that I got on the bus at the Athletes' Village to discover that I'd left my competition leg back in my room.
"That's the trouble when you become a toppie - you become all forgetful.
"Young Oscar Pistorius said hey, where was my leg, so I rushed back to my room to get it.
"Luckily it was early enough to catch the next bus in to the Olympic Stadium. It shows you, we're learning from the youth now."
Lombaard said before these Games that they would be his last, but after Sunday night, he was thinking twice about his decision.
"I still believe I can get that 14 metres," he said.
"I reckon I'll keep going for another two years and see how things go from there.
"But it's not finished yet. We've still got the discus to go and I really want to be the first to crack the 50 metres mark.
Lombaard, who lost his left leg after a freak rugby accident in 1993, competes in the discus on Tuesday and will also contest the javelin, "but I've not put too much focus on that event", he said.
Du Toit's world mark is the trigger for what could develop into Du Toit emerging as a sensation at the Games.
She is favourite for six other events - the 50, 100 and 400 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 200m IM.
