Day 1: World Records tumbled and rising stars shine in Singapore

World Records tumbled and rising stars introduced themselves to the world stage as the Toyota World Para Swimming Championships Singapore 2025 kicked off on Sunday (21 September).

In the first of seven action-packed days at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, Czechia’s teenage prodigy David Kratochvil secured a memorable gold medal performance, winning the men’s freestyle 50m S11 gold.

The 17-year-old, who set a Championship Record in the heats, produced a powerful mid-race surge to claim his first 50m-world title in 25.52, 0.36 of a second before runner-up Mahamadou Dambelleh Jarra from Spain. 

”This race was difficult because I swam fast in the morning,” Kratochvil said.

”I wanted to swim the same way in the final. I did, and I’m really happy.”

The Czech rising star had been eighth in the event at the last World Championships, in Manchester, Great Britain, two years ago, and fifth at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games last year, before taking the last steps onto the podium – and to the very top of it – on Sunday.

Behind him were names such as five-time Paralympic champion Rogier Dorsman of the Netherlands, and Japan’s Kimura Keiichi, who has 14 Games medals including three of gold. Brazil’s Thomaz Rocha Matera took bronze.

“It’s amazing. The 50m is the strongest race in our class and I’d rather swim the 400m freestyle,” said Kratochvil, who is the Paralympic and world champion in the 400m freestyle.

”But I’m so happy that I’ve won here because I was fifth in the Paralympic Games and it’s amazing that I now have got first place.”

Finishing 0.36 of a second behind the winner, runner-up Dambelleh Jarra claimed his first World Championships medal in his second edition of the competition, completing another impressive journey to the podium. In Manchester two years ago, he finished in 13th place, missing out on the final, and did not compete at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Seventeen-year-old David Kratochvil from Czechia is the new World Champion in the men’s 50m freestyle S11! 🏆🇨🇿

📺Watch live: https://t.co/OtgKckqrRu
📊Schedule and live results: https://t.co/CgGL6JmtCR#ParaSwimming #Singapore2025 pic.twitter.com/OnIqsqQQFQ

— Para Swimming (@Para_swimming) September 21, 2025

Zijderveld interviews Kruger

The women’s 400m freestyle S8 final turned into a narrow battle between Great Britain teammates Alice Tai, 26, and Brock Whiston, 28. Whiston took an early lead and held it for 300m, with Tai chasing after her. The duo came up side by side for the last quarter of the race and with 50m left to swim, Tai was one tenth of a second ahead of her teammate. She took the victory by 0.21 second, as Spain’s Nahia Zudaire Borrezo, more than three seconds behind the British duo, won bronze.

“It was such a great race between me and Brock. I’m really happy to be on the podium with my teammate,” Tai said.

In the tough competition, Paralympic champion Jessica Long of the United States had to settle for a sixth place, finishing 13.60 seconds after the winner. Whiston had not taken the podium for granted.

“I was hoping to be among the top five, as I knew it would be a difficult race,” she said.

”But it was very special to be there with Alice and also with Nahia [Zudaire Borrezo] who was super emotional. This shows what sport is about.”

In the absence of retired Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Paralympic champion Chantalle Zijderveld, her Netherlands teammate Lisa Kruger was the woman to beat in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB9 final, and Kruger made no mistake.

The Rio 2016 gold medallist took an early lead and kept expanding the gap back to her competitors, claiming the gold medal in 1:15.71 – 3.85 seconds faster than silver medallist Gabriella Smith of New Zealand.

”This year has been an emotional rollercoaster,” Kruger said.

”I've started to study medicine and it's sometimes been difficult to combine studies and training. And on top of that my father passed away at the beginning of this year.

”I remember when I got the qualification time to come to the world championships, I was over the moon, I was crying. And now I'm here, I've just won the world title.”

She was interviewed by none other than world record-holder Zijderveld, who now works as a press attaché for Team Netherlands.

”I'm really happy to have Chantalle here”, she said.

”I remembered we had to record a video once with me asking her a question and I was asking her 'how does it feel to beat me, again?’”

Now, Zijderveld is getting used to being the one holding the microphone.

“It feels very weird to be here because I’m in the World Championships but I’m not an athlete anymore,” she said.

”I feel comfortable saying that I’m not racing anymore. I’m happy to be here, I’m officially doing the media for the Dutch swimmers and I’m happy to help the team any way I can.”

😗🥇😄 Sone of the world champions from day 1 at #Singapore2025

📊Full results: https://t.co/CgGL6JlVNj#ParaSwimming pic.twitter.com/pzH69dJURr

— Para Swimming (@Para_swimming) September 21, 2025

Three world records

A veteran still in the game, Germany’s Tanja Scholz, 41, was unbeatable in the women’s 50m breaststroke SB2 final where she set her second world record of the day. Finishing a race against the clock in 1:00.95, she beat her record time from the heats by 1.32 second. Defending champion, Ellie Challis from Great Britain, had to settle for a silver, 9.44 seconds behind as teenager Diana Koltsova, 17, took bronze.

Brazilian 17-year-old Alessandra Oliveira dos Santos broke an 11-year-old world record as she won gold in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB4. Finishing in 1:43.21, more than nine seconds ahead of Italy’s defending world and Paralympic champion Giulia Ghiretti, the Brazilian smashed the milestone time set by Norway’s Sarah Louise Rung on 17 July 2014, when Oliveira dos Santos had just turned six.

In another dominant performance, Great Britain’s William Ellard led the men’s 200m Freestyle S14 final from start to finish to claim the gold medal with a new world record. Clocking in at 1:51.08, Ellard beat his own record from last year’s Paralympic Games by 0.22 of a second.

Turkiye’s Defne Kurt, 24, is making her international debut this year and continued to break new ground in Singapore, where she won the women’s 50m freestyle S10 gold medal with a new championships record of 27.21, beating runner-up Alessia Scortechini from Italy by seven tenths of a second.

Italy won three gold medals on Sunday, Monica Boggioni starting her Singapore 2025 campaign with triumphs in the women’s 50m freestyle S5 and 50m breaststroke SB3.

Swimmers from Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, China, France, Israel, Mexico and the United States, as well as Neutral Para Athletes (NPA), also made it onto the top of the podium on day one of competition in Singapore.

Here are the day 1 medallists at the Toyota 2025 World Para Swimming Championships Singapore 2025.

The action continues on Monday in Singapore and here you can check how to follow the first-ever World Championships in Asia.