The 21-year-old earned her ticket to London on Sunday by winning the 100m event at the Brazil Grand Prix in Rio with a time of 11.21 seconds, one hundredth of a second inside the Olympic qualifying standard.

　　"Until now I have been preparing for the Games just like any other athlete: concentrating on my events and eating the right things," Santos said.

　　"But on Saturday night I went to the cinema to eat popcorn. I think that is the reason why I won."

　　Making the performance even more meritorious was the quality of opposition at Sunday's event.

　　Second place went to Bahamas rising star Sheniqua Ferguson (11.30 seconds) while American Lauryn Williams, silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, finished third in a time of 11.32 seconds.

　　The result came after a testing past few months for Santos, who had fallen painstakingly short of the qualifying time in her previous attempts this year.

　　"It's a big relief. Now I have to work hard to try to get the time down to the 10.90s or 11s. That's the time you generally need to make the Olympic final."

　　Born in the United States, Santos moved to Rio with her family as a child.

　　Having finished fourth in Brazil's 4x100m relay at the Beijing Games four years ago, Santos won gold at the Pan American Games in Mexico last year with a personal best time of 11.22 seconds.

　　Immediately after her triumph on Sunday, the Brazilian ran to the stands of the Engenhao stadium to embrace her boyfriend, who made a No.1 gesture with his hand.

　　Santos admitted to being overcome with emotion and even shedding a tear.

　　"I have come so close in my previous results and now finally I've achieved my goal," she concluded.