Singapore 2025: Five male athletes to watch

Singapore is ready to welcome over 580 athletes to the first World Para Swimming Championships in Asia from 21 to 27 September.

All eyes will be on the athletes from around the globe competing at the OCBC Aquatic Centre and you will be able to follow all the action live on the Paralympics YouTube channel.

Here are five male stars to watch out for at the Toyota World Para Swimming Championships – Singapore 2025.

Carlos Serrano (Colombia)

At the age of 14 Carlos Serrano did not know how to swim, and just three years later in 2016 he won three Paralympics medals in Rio, including one gold. Going one better in 2020 in Tokyo, he won four medals and added other three at Paris 2024. The Colombian is the defending world champion from Manchester 2023 in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB8 and has a world title in the 200 m individual medley SM7 from Madeira 2022. 

When to watch: 100m Breaststroke SB7 - Day 3 (23 Sep) | 50m Butterfly S7 - Day 5 (25 Sep) | 50m Freestyle S7 - Day 6 (26 Sep).

Gabriel Araujo (Brazil) 

Araujo captivated France with his infectious smile and three gold medals at Paris 2024 – he already had two from Tokyo 2020. Singapore 2025 will he his third World Championships and in the previous two he achieved hat-trick of golds in the men’s 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke and 200m freestyle S2. The Brazilian was born with phocomelia having no arms, only legs and his torso generate forward momentum in the pool. 

When to watch: 150m Individual Medley SM3 - Day 2 (22 Sep) | 100m Backstroke S2 - Day 3 (23 Sep) |  200m Freestyle S2 - Day 4 (24 Sep) | 50m Freestyle S2 - Day 5 (25 Sep) | 50m Backstroke S2 - Day 6 (26 Sep).

🔙 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘀…

… 🇮🇹 Italy’s Paralympic champions Federico Morlacchi & Simone Barlaam shared the gold medal at #London2019 after finishing the men’s 100m butterfly S9 incredibly at the same exact time.

What is your best Worlds memory? 👀 pic.twitter.com/6GeLH2lNSP

— Para Swimming (@Para_swimming) August 7, 2025

Rogier Dorsman (The Netherlands) 

The Dutch star has five Paralympic gold medals to his name, three from Tokyo 2020 and two from Paris 2024 (men’s 100m breaststroke SB11 and 200m individual medley SM11). Dorsman has nine gold medals in World Championships, two of them from the last edition at Manchester 2023 (men’s 50m freestyle S11 and 100m breaststroke SB11). Japan’s Keiichi Kimura and Uchu Tomita will be his main rivals in the men’s S11 events.

When to watch: 50m Freestyle S11 - Day 1 (21 Sept) | 100m Breaststroke SB11 - Day 3 (23 Sept) | 200m Individual Medley SM11 - Day 4 (24 Sept) | 100m Freestyle S11 - Day 5 (25 Sept)

Simone Barlaam (Italy) 

With 19 World Championships gold medals, Barlaam lets nothing hold him back after taking up swimming aged 15. The S9 swimmer topped the podium six times in the last edition at Manchester 2023. The Italian is also a four-time Paralympic champion, with three of those titles coming last year in Paris. Barlaam has a passion for drawing and create a comic series for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. 

When to watch: 100m Butterfly S9 - Day 3 (23 Sep) | 100m Freestyle S9 - Day 4 (24 Sep) | 400m Freestyle S9 - Day 5 (25 Sep) | 50m Freestyle S9 - Day 7 (27 Sep). 

Talisso Engel (Germany)

Three-time world champion in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB13, the German was born with a congenital vision impairment and took up swimming at the age of 6. He is a two-time Paralympic champion in the same event (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024). Earlier this year, he showed his dance moves competing in the German TV show Let’s Dance going all the way to the final finishing in second place. 

When to watch: 100m Breaststroke SB13 - Day 2 (22 Sep) | 50m Freestyle S13 -  Day 5 (25 Sep) |  200m Individual Medley SM13 - Day 7 (27 Sep).