Jessica Long and Eleanor Simmonds debut in Indianapolis

US and GB swimmers are among 11 Paralympic champions competing in the second World Series this year 19 Apr 2018

Gold medalist Jessica Long of the United States celebrates on the podium at the medal ceremony for Women's 200m Individual Medley - SM8 at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Paralympic champion Jessica Long will defend her world titles at Mexico City 2017

ⒸGetty Images

By Adam Bailey | For the IPC

The World Para Swimming season continues this weekend (19-21 April) with the second event of this season’s World Series in Indianapolis, USA.

This year’s World Series got off to a stunning start last month in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the Indianapolis leg will see 198 swimmers from 17 countries compete over 30 medal events.

Multi-Paralympic medallist Jessica Long is among the big names making her international debut this season, as she heads a strong USA team, featuring six Paralympic champions and 10 current world champions.

Long spent three months away from the pool after winning eight gold medals at the 2017 World Para Swimming Championships in December in Mexico City, deciding to dedicate her time to coaching a school swim team in her hometown of Baltimore.

The 26-year-old will no doubt be eager to impress in front of her home crowd, and she heads to Indianapolis as world champion in three of the four events she will take part in this weekend.

The USA’s team also features the next generation of US Para swimming talent.

Eleven-year-old Nikki Wymer and 12-year-old Keegan Knott are just two of a number of youngsters who will represent the USA alongside Paralympic champions Rebecca Meyers, Mckenzie Coan and Bradley Snyder, who each won three gold medals at Rio 2016.

Great Britain’s Eleanor Simmonds is also making her international debut in Indianapolis.

The five-time Paralympic champion successfully defended her Paralympic title in the women’s 200m individual medley SM6 at Rio 2016, before deciding to take a year away from the pool to travel around the world.

Simmonds considered retirement during her year away from the sport, but she returns to the pool with her sights set on this summer’s 2018 Allianz World Para Swimming European Championships in Dublin, Ireland.

Rio 2016 medallists Katarina Roxon and Tess Routliffe headline Canada’s delegation after only just returning from competing at the Commonwealth Games, which finished on 15 April, while four-time Paralympic champion Zhang Li will lead the Chinese charge.

The Indianapolis World Series gets underway on Thursday (19 April) and full results will be available World Para Swimming’s website.