Top moments of 2025: Summer sports
With 2025 coming to a close, now is the perfect time to relive some of the best moments from the year. 18 Dec 2025
The year is drawing to a close, and what a remarkable year 2025 has been for the Paralympic Movement.
Para athletes from across the globe showcased the very best of Para sport, achieving incredible feats, winning medals, and dazzling fans with their performances.
Before we turn the page to another extraordinary chapter leading to Milano Cortina 2026, let’s relive some of our favourite Para summer sports highlights from 2025, featuring Paralympic champions, rising stars, and achievements that defined the year.
Brazil tops medals table at World Para Athletics Championships
Over 1,000 Para athletes from around the world gathered in India for the New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships. Indian athletes, including two-time Paralympic champion Sumit Antil and high jumper Nishad Kumar, impressed on home soil.
Brazil finished atop the overall medals table with 15 gold, 20 silver, and nine bronze medals, led by sprint star Jerusa Geber, who won the women’s 100m and 200m T11 races. With 13 titles to her name, she is now the country’s most decorated athlete at the World Championships.
History was also made in the Indian capital when Guillaume Junior Atangana became the first-ever refugee athlete to win a world title. Guided by fellow refugee athlete Donard Ndim Nyamjua, Atangana won the men’s 400m T11 event with a season-best time of 51.95 seconds.
China dominates at Para Fencing Worlds in Korea
At the Para Fencing World Championships in Iksan, Korea, China dominated the field with 11 gold medals across individual and team events. Around 140 Para fencers from 30 countries competed.
On the final day of competition on 7 September, Chinese athletes collected the last two gold medals on offer to conclude their successful campaign.
Haiyan Gu, Xiao Rong, and Xufeng Zou won the women’s team sabre, beating Poland’s Marta Firych, Kinga Drozdz, and Jadiwga Pacek in the final. China’s Yang Chen, Yanke Feng, and Saichun Zhong defeated Great Britain in the men’s team foil final.
Sheetal Devi realises dream of winning Para archery world title
Indian Para archery star Sheetal Devi beat reigning world and Paralympic champion Oznur Cure Girdi en route to her maiden world title in Gwangju, Korea, in September.
“I had a dream I would become world champion,” Devi said. “It made me want to work. I worked and worked and today I’ve got such a good result.”
It is her second major title, after shooting to victory at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games. She also claimed a bronze medal on her Paralympic debut at Paris 2024.
Italy shines in the pool at World Championships
Italy topped the overall medal table at the World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore, led by Simone Barlaam, Monica Boggioni, and Gabriele Lorenzo.
The European powerhouse claimed a total of 46 medals, including 18 golds. But it was far from an easy victory, as the United States matched their gold medal tally and finished second with 35 total medals.
“I feel good, I was hoping to go a little bit; but it is the last day of this long competition, so it is great to finish on a gold medal,” four-time Paralympic champion Barlaam said after winning the men’s 50m freestyle S9 final for his fourth medal of Singapore 2025.
Teenage sensation Tokito Oda completes career Golden Slam
Japan's Tokito Oda became the youngest wheelchair tennis player in history to complete the career Golden Slam, and only the fourth Para athlete ever to achieve the feat.
He pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez in September’s US Open men’s singles final. At just 19, Oda has won all four Grand Slam titles and the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
“I am feeling just amazing, just happy,” Oda said. “Yeah, I got no words.”
South Sudan makes mark in blind football
Fans witnessed the growth and depth of blind football this year. South Sudan won gold at the IBSA Blind Football African Championships Division 2 with strong teamwork, energy, and excellent performances.
Uganda finished second, while Zimbabwe took third in a tournament that gave new players a chance to compete and helped teams gain valuable experience.
USA defeat Brazil in thriller at Sitting Volleyball World Cup
The USA bounced back from two sets down to beat Brazil 3-2 in the women’s tournament at the 2025 World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball World Cup in October.
A year after winning their third straight Paralympic gold at Paris 2024, the United States proved once again that they are the team to beat in sitting volleyball. Italy earned bronze.
In the men’s tournament, Egypt topped the podium by beating Brazil in the final, two years after finishing runners-up at the previous World Cup.
Paralympic stars shine at European Para Badminton Championships
More than 190 athletes gathered for the European Para Badminton Championships in Istanbul, Turkiye, in October. Four players—Italy’s Yuri Ferrigno, Switzerland’s Ilaria Olgiati, Norway’s Helle Sofie Sagoy, and France’s Lucas Mazur—clinched three medals each.
Para badminton stars Mazur and Sagoy stood out as they defended both titles they won at the previous edition in 2018. They also teamed up in mixed doubles to win the SL3-SU5 category.
Egypt leads way at boccia’s African Championships
Regional championships took place in boccia this year. Egypt dominated the field at August’s African Regional Championships, with six athletes taking gold medals. Egypt has never won a boccia medal at the Paralympics—will things change at the LA28 Paralympic Games?
Thailand led the medals table at the Asia-Oceania Championships at home, while Great Britain topped the overall tally at the European Championships.
Australia tops medals table at Para Cycling Track World Championships
Australia topped the overall medals table at the UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships. Australian athletes signed out in style by winning the final event, the C1-5 750m team sprint, on the Rio de Janeiro velodrome.
Erin Nermoyle, Michael Shippley, and Korey Boddington took the win by just 0.02 seconds ahead of Great Britain’s Kadeena Cox, Funlay Graham, and Jody Cundy.
Revamped Para table tennis circuit marks first year
This year, a new circuit structure was launched in Para table tennis to elevate the sport worldwide and bring it closer to fans.
The new circuit features three competition tiers - Future, Challenger, and Elite - offering athletes opportunities to progress, gain experience, and compete at high levels.
The final Elite event of the year, held in Voisins-le-Bretonneux, saw British athletes claim seven singles medals, including three golds. Japan’s Natsuki Wada continued her excellent form by winning the women’s class 11 gold.
Alexis Hanquinquant wins eighth world title
France’s two-time Paralympic champion Alexis Hanquinquant headlined a star-studded field at the World Triathlon Para Championships in Wollongong, Australia, in October.
Hanquinquant won his eighth world title in the men’s PTS4, earning one of the four gold medals that France claimed in Wollongong. Elise Marc was victorious in the women’s PTS3, while Camille Seneclauze won the women’s PTS4 and Jules Ribstein took gold in the men’s PTS2.
USA take double victory at wheelchair basketball’s Americas Cup
The USA enjoyed double glory in August’s wheelchair basketball Americas Cup in Bogota, Colombia. The men’s team reaffirmed their status as reigning Paralympic and world champions with a 73-49 victory over Argentina in the final. In the Women’s Americas Cup held a week earlier, the USA had an unbeaten run, including defeating Brazil in the final.
The USA, Argentina, and bronze medallists Colombia earned direct qualification for the men’s tournament at the 2026 World Championship in Canada. The USA and Brazil booked slots for the women’s tournament.