Singapore 2025: Toyota Motor Asia named headline sponsor of the World Championships

The Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) and World Para Swimming (WPS) announced on Saturday (24 May) that Toyota Motor Asia has stepped up as headline sponsor of the World Para Swimming Championships, which will be held in Singapore from 21 to 27 September 2025. 

The announcement, shared at the 100-day countdown celebration to the World Championships, marked a significant partnership milestone between SDSC, WPS and Toyota Motor Asia. This is Toyota Motor Asia’s first title sponsorship of the World Para Swimming Championships, reflecting its ongoing commitment to promoting inclusivity and accessibility through sport. Toyota Motor Asia had previously partnered the SDSC to host the Singapore leg of the World Para Swimming Series in 2019, 2023 and 2024. 

“Para athletes inspire us with their extraordinary resilience, talent, and determination – and that drives our continued support for inclusive sports,” said Preston Tan, Leading Vice President, Toyota Motor Asia. “As a regional office, Toyota Motor Asia, has been supporting the sports community for years. Our involvement in the Toyota World Para Swimming Championships – Singapore 2025 reflects our continued commitment to uplifting the community and championing the para movement and athletes.”

This partnership reflects Toyota’s global corporate initiative “Move Your World”, to promote the belief that movement is a fundamental right. Toyota has long championed Para athletes, striving to create a more equitable and inclusive society through mobility solutions and sport. Globally, Toyota has supported more than 200 Olympic and Paralympic athletes, reinforcing its long-standing commitment to “Mobility for All”.

“The World Para Swimming Championships is the most important event in our sport and a powerful platform to promote inclusion and empower persons with disabilities at local, regional and global levels. Toyota has a long history of support for Para sport and a strong commitment to advance inclusion on a global scale. We are thrilled to welcome Toyota Motor Asia as the title partner of Singapore 2025,” said Craig Nicholson, Head of World Para Swimming. 

100 days to the World Para Swimming Championships in sunny Singapore! Toyota Motor Asia joins as headline sponsor as we launch #SG60SwimTogether — a call for all to swim for inclusion. 💙🏊‍♂️🇸🇬 👉 https://t.co/OFhI9BJCHQ@Para_swimming #WPSC25 #Singapore2025 pic.twitter.com/fEkUut1sLe

— World Para Swimming Championships (@para_swimSG2025) May 24, 2025

SwimTogether

The SDSC also launched SG60 SwimTogether Singapore as part of the celebratory event at Delta Swimming Complex on Saturday. The launch event featured a 100-lap commemorative swim, powered by 60 unique individuals, symbolising Singaporeans moving forward together in unity. The diverse group of swimmers included Paralympian Theresa Goh, Olympian Mark Chay, Team Singapore Para swimmer Wong Zhi Wei, Team Singapore swimmer Amanda Lim, young Para swimmers, swimmers with high support needs, Para swimming coaches, corporate partners, and representatives from different disability groups, and seniors. 

The SG60 SwimTogether Singapore is a legacy campaign of the World Championships, designed to encourage Singaporeans of all abilities to swim together, and use swimming as a sport to uplift lives. Running from 24 May to 31 August 2025, the campaign invites the public to clock swim laps at participating pools across Singapore, through both centralised and remote activations.

Participants at the launch included 11-year-old Muhammad Hariz Bin Sanusi, who has spina bifida. Hariz completed an assisted lap for the campaign, having only recently started swimming through SDSC’s support to his school. A specialised coach was engaged by the SDSC to support Hariz to learn swimming while his classmates did the same under the Swimsafer programme. The SDSC also provided specialised transport for Hariz, a wheelchair user, to travel to the swimming pool, while his classmates used regular buses. 

Upon completing his lap, Hariz shared: “It feels fun and exciting—like you’re in space, floating and you can do anything.” 

For Hariz’s family, the SwimTogether campaign has opened new possibilities. Once hesitant about sports due to injury concerns, they now see a way forward. 

“Before joining this Swim Together programme, Hariz wanted to play basketball and other sports, but we were reluctant because of his condition. This programme opened our eyes,” said his mother, Hadijah Binte Mohamed Eusope, who runs a Malay food stall at Anchor Green Primary School. “We realised there are so many sports people with his condition can enjoy. I hope other parents won’t be afraid to let their children go out and try what they want, because sports can keep them healthy and fit.”

Another participant in the commemorative swim was Loh Jia Wei, 30, a public sector lawyer, who last stepped into a swimming pool at the age of four. Diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a genetic condition that causes progressive muscle weakness, that last swim ended with a cold, and she has stayed away from the water ever since.

Now, Jia Wei is taking on the SG60 SwimTogether Singapore campaign as an opportunity to reconnect with swimming in a meaningful way. With SDSC extending the help of a heated pool, a dedicated coach, and a physiotherapist, Jia Wei is navigating the water once more—this time with a newfound sense of freedom. 

“It felt very surreal and liberating to be moving about using my limbs,” she shared. “Each swim lesson was a good workout for me.”

At the launch event, a video was played of Jia Wei completing her lap — a milestone that once felt far out of reach. “I hope my participation inspires other persons with disabilities to step out of their comfort zone and try a sport,” said Jia Wei. “I hope it also inspires people to reach out and forge friendships, regardless of physical ability.”

While we’re getting prepared for the next #ParaSwimming World Championships in Singapore, nothing better than hear from local stars some suggestions to enjoy the host city at the most.#Singapore2025 pic.twitter.com/L3Rtbnqt0h

— Para Swimming (@Para_swimming) February 21, 2025

Legacy

“Both Toyota’s steadfast support and the SG60 SwimTogether Singapore campaign reflect the spirit of unity and progress. As we approach Singapore’s 60th birthday and the World Para Swimming Championships, I invite all Singaporeans and companies to join us - partner us, participate in SwimTogether, and buy your tickets to cheer our Para swimmers. Together, we can be a powerful movement towards inclusivity,” said Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang, President, SDSC and Co-Chair of the World Para Swimming Championship Steering Committee. 

Craig Nicholson, Head of World Para Swimming, added: 

“The 100 days to go celebration also marks the launch of a campaign that showcases a significant legacy of this year’s World Championships. SwimTogether builds up on an initiative introduced by World Para Swimming to expand access to swim-safe education, particularly for persons with disabilities.”

The Toyota World Para Swimming Championships – Singapore 2025 will take place from 21 to 27 September 2025 at the OCBC Aquatic Centre. It is the first time Asia is hosting this prestigious event, and the SG60 SwimTogether Singapore campaign serves as a meaningful lead-up, placing everyday Singaporeans at the heart of this historic event.

“To me, the SG60 SwimTogether Singapore campaign represents the strides Singapore and disability sports have taken but it also shows how much further we can go.” shared Paralympian Theresa Goh. “I’m grateful to be still part of this sport and to be able to give back in whatever way I can.”