New Delhi 2025: Jerusa Geber's gold wraps up Brazil's historic campaign

Jerusa Geber became the most decorated Brazilian at the World Para Athletics Championships as she won the women’s 200m T11 gold medal on Sunday.

In the last day of IndianOil New Delhi 2025 action at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Geber claimed her 13th World Championship medal, one more than the dozen won by Brazil’s now second best, Terezinha Guilhermina.

The Paralympic champion, running with guide Gabriel dos Santos, came into the final 100m stretch with China’s Liu Yiming right behind her but then switched gears to take the victory in 24.88, 1.34 seconds ahead of Liu. 

Geber, who equalled her compatriot’s tally as she retained her 100m T11 crown on Wednesday, pulled off a season’s best time to claim her seventh world title when she needed it the most, leaving New Delhi with two gold medals in two events.

”World Championships have concluded and I’ve reached my two goals,” she said.

"Firstly, to win the 100m for the fourth time and secondly, to become the (Brazilian) athlete with the most medals at the World Para Athletics Championships.”

Brazil’s 400m champion Thalita Simplicio claimed bronze as the South American Para athletics powerhouse secured the victory in the overall medal standings on 44 medals including 15 golds, with China in second place on 13 gold medals, despite having won more – 52 – medals in total.

New Delhi 2025: Here are all the medallists from day nine

That the competitions in New Delhi are over does not mean holiday time on Copacabana for the 43-year-old multitalented, who will go to Rio de Janeiro for a different reason.

“When I return to Brazil I will be travelling to another World Championships,” said Geber, who will pedal for more glory at the 2025 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships at Rio de Janeiro’s Velodrome, in less than two weeks.

”My pilot is already there waiting for me. I’m super happy, I can’t stop. I always want more.”

Brazil holds the lead until the end and dethrones China! 🇧🇷#ParaAthletics #NewDelhi2025 pic.twitter.com/YAVdYMewBh

— Para Athletics (@ParaAthletics) October 5, 2025

Rodriguez's hat-trick

Kiara Rodriguez of Ecuador finished off another successful World Championship campaign with her third gold medal in three events in New Delhi. 

The 22-year-old, who had won the women’s 100m and long jump T47 titles, won Sunday’s 200m T47 final with a new world record time. Finishing in 24.34, she knocked three hundredths of a second off her own mark set in Friday’s heats, beating runner-up Maria Clara Augusto of Brazil by 0.43 of a second as New Zealand’s Anna Grimaldi claimed bronze. The previous world record had been set by Cuba’s Yunidis Castillo at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

“I didn’t expect this. It’s my first 200m in the World Championships; I hadn’t run the 200m in more than six years. I’m really happy and thrilled with this result,” said the three-time 100m world champion, who had never been on a global 200m podium before.

”I’ll leave India very happy, it’s been incredible. I’ve won three gold medals, I’ve broken the 200m world record twice, which hasn’t happened for 13 years. I can’t put it into words.”

Iran claimed third place in the medal standings with nine gold medals, Netherlands in fourth place on eight, much thanks to two triumphs on Sunday, through Lara Baars, who won the women’s shot put F40 with a world record throw of 9.77, and Marlene van Gansewinkel, who closed the World Championships with a women’s 200m T64 title.

The defending world champion van Gansewinkel made no mistake in the 200m final, where she got a strong start and kept increasing her advantage until the finish line. She retained her title with a season’s best time of 26.16, beating runner-up Marissa Papaconstantinou of Canada by 0.91 of a second to claim her tenth World Championships medal and second gold. 

”It feels very good, it’s been a crazy year,” the Dutch 30-year-old said.

”I moved countries, to a new coach, a long jump coach, but I had my injury and I couldn’t do the long jump so I had to go to sprint.”

Half of her medals from World Championships and Paralympic Games have come in the long jump events. In New Delhi, however, she could not compete in the long jump due to a problem with her Achilles, shifting focus to the sprints where she added the 200m gold medal to her 100m T64 silver.

”I’m really happy I can still show that I’m a sprinter, although not everything went as smoothly as I hoped,” the two-time Paralympic champion said.

”Whether it is just sprint or the long jump, I will still be doing athletics because it’s way too much fun.”
Also with double gold medals on the ninth day of competition, South Africa claimed their only world titles in New Delhi on Sunday as Simone Kruger triumphed for the third time in the women’s discus throw F38 and Puseletso Michael Mabote won a narrow men’s 100m T63 final.

With a strong push in the last 30m, Mabote edged leader Partin Muhlisin of Indonesia to claim the victory in 12.03, improving the Championship Record he set in the heats by three hundredths of a second. Muhlisin won the silver medal in 12.26, two hundredths of a second ahead of Denmark’s bronze medallist Daniel Wagner.

“I’ve been waiting on that one,” said the 20-year-old winner, who had to settle for silver at last year’s World Championships in Kobe, Japan.

”I don’t know how to describe it, I’m pretty sure my family is ecstatic at the moment. I’m just amazed at my potential, I have so much more growth and so much to give to the sport. I’m only 20 years old, I will be in this game for at least another ten years.”

Mabote’s week had started with a fourth-place in Monday's long jump T63, where he had set an African record but was 19cm from reaching the podium as Joel de Jong of the Netherlands claimed the gold medal. In Sunday’s final, de Jong, a Paris 2023 100m world champion, who had finished third in Kobe last year, was disqualified after a false start, as Mabote could claim his first world title.

“I’m really happy with these Championships, India has treated me really well. I hope you guys will still see me for a long time,” Mabote said.

WERELDKAMPIOEN & WERELDRECORD 🤯

Na haar paralympische titel mag Lara Baars zich nu ook wereldkampioen noemen. Goud bij het kogelstoten F40 in een nieuw wereldrecord, 9.77m! 🥇💥#NewDelhi2025 #WKParaAtletiek pic.twitter.com/QcdLIfup8W

— Atletiekunie (@Atletiekunie) October 5, 2025

Strong Streng

In the men’s 200m T64 final, Germany’s Felix Streng claimed his second gold medal in two events in New Delhi, having won the 100m T64 final on Tuesday. Finishing in a season’s best time of 21.60, the German beat silver medallist Sherman Guity of Costa Rica by one tenth of a second as Italy’s Francesco Loragno produced a personal best to win bronze. Streng’s teammate Johannes Floors, who had finished in second place behind him in the 100m final, made it two German titles on Sunday as he won the 400m T62 title.

Contributing to China’s second place in the overall medal standings, Wen Xiaoyan claimed her third world title this week as she won the women’s 200m T37 final on Sunday. With a new season’s best time of 26.70, the 27-year-old 100m and long jump champion made it a hat trick in India, beating Ukraine’s Nataliia Kobzar by 0.64 of a second as USA’s Taylor Swanson won bronze. As Wang Yang, Jin Hua and Guo Qinqian won the men’s 800m T34, men’s 800m T54 and women’s 100m T35 titles, the Asian Para sports giant closed their World Championships with four gold medals in the last day, Jin setting a new world record of 1:27.04.

The host nation made their best ever World Championships campaign with six gold medals, nine silvers and seven bronze, beating their previously best tally from Kobe 2024 by four silvers and a bronze.

Another strong improvement from the last edition of the World Championships was the amount of world records set; 35 in New Delhi in comparison to 21 last year. Neutral Para Athlete Evgenii Torsunov won the men’s long jump T36 gold medal with a new mark of 6.14m, Iran’s Mehran Nikoeimajd finished the men’s shot put F34 final by beating Jordan’s silver medallist Ahmad Hindi’s world record from 2021 in his last attempt and Tunisia’s Amen Allah Tissaoui set a new T37 world record as he claimed silver in 3:58.17 in the men’s 1500m T38 final.

Para athletes from Belgium, Colombia, Croatia, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Portugal and the United States also finished their IndianOil New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships on top of the podium as nine memorable days of action in the heat of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium came to a close.

Complete results, records and medallists from New Delhi 2025 can be found here.