Citi World Series 2024: Crothers hopes Australia will set tone for special season

The Citi Para Swimming World Series 2024 makes its second stop in one of the most traditional nations in the sport as Australia will play host to 121 athletes representing 13 nations from 23 to 25 February (Friday to Sunday) at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC).

With the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games looming just six months away, elite Para swimmers from across the globe seize this golden opportunity to fine-tune their skills and gear up for the pinnacle event of the season.

All the action will be live streamed on Swimming Victoria YouTube channel.

Complete schedule and live results can be found here.

For Paralympic champion Rowan Crothers (S10), this event holds special significance as he leads the charge for the host nation, represented by 61 swimmers in Melbourne.

“It sets the tone for Paralympic sport right here at home, that we are amongst the best in the world and we are here to do business,” he said.

Crothers has been battling a nerve injury for the past six weeks which has limited his ability to train at the highest intensity before this World Series. However, the Australia 2024 Series is a crucial stepping stone towards his third Games.

“I’m going to do my best in the 50m and 100m freestyle, and use my times as a benchmark for the season as we get closer to Paris 2024. My major focus for Paris 2024 is the 100m freestyle. The dream is to swim 49 seconds, but the focus is all on process and execution. The only way to swim faster is to focus on swimming faster,” added the Australian swimmer.

The golden Dolphins

Joining Crothers are a constellation of Australian Paralympic stars, including Brenden Hall and Benjamin Hance in men’s events and Lakeisha Patterson among the female athletes. 

Beside the 100m freestyle, Hall (S9) will be racing in his strongest event, the men’s 400m freestyle, in which he grabbed two gold medals in Paralympic Games – London 2012 and Rio 2016.

The 24-year-old Hance (S14) is preparing for second Games after a great debut at Tokyo 2020 adding one medal of each colour to the Australian count. In Melbourne, he can be seen competing in the men’s 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke and 50m butterfly.

Lakeisha (S9), who recently turned 25, comes from two golden Paralympic cycles as she incredibly collected six medals at her first Games, Rio 2016, with two gold, three silver, and a bronze medal..

Patterson’s (S9) illustrious career has seen her clinch gold on multiple occasions, including two at her first Games in Rio eight years ago. At Tokyo 2020, she took a gold in the 400m freestyle, in which she will be swimming for another gold at home this week. Patterson will have her eyes set on glory also in the women’s 100m freestyle and 200m medley.

China is in the house

Melbourne will welcome 60 athletes from 12 countries, with China leading the charge with a formidable 11-strong delegation spearheaded by seasoned 29-year-old Jinbiao Luo and 18-year-old rising star Zhili Xie. Luo (S6) will compete in the men’s 100m and 400m freestyle, and 100m breaststroke while Xie (S9) will be racing the men’s 100m breaststroke and butterfly.

Ireland, Singapore and Spain also travelled to Australia with some of their best. Irish Paralympic champion Ellen Keane (SB8/SM9) will be competing at the MSAC in the women’s 50m and 100m breaststroke and 200m medley. 

Representing Singapore, five-time Paralympic champion Yip Pin Xiu (S2) will race in four events – women’s 100m and 200m freestyle, 50m and 100m backstroke. The two Spanish swimmers in Melbourne will bring a combination of experience and youth.

Seven-time Paralympic champion Teresa Perales (S2) will swim in the women’s 50m and 100m backstroke and the 50m breaststroke while 15-year-old world champion Anastasiya Dmytriv Dmytriv (S9) races in the women’s 50m and 100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly, and 200m medley as she prepares to her Paralympic debut this year in Paris.

The Citi Para Swimming World Series 2024 kicked off in Great Britain earlier this month and you can recap all the action here.