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Singapore 2025: Yip Pin Xiu claims first world title on home ground

Home favourite defends her 50m backstroke S2 title in front of roaring crowd that included nation's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on stands; USA’s Olivia Chambers clinches third gold medal in the championships as do Gabrielzinho; World records for Spanish veteran Albert Gelis (100m backstroke S11) and Great Britain (mixed 4x100m medley relay S14) as China continue to lead medal standings on day six of Toyota World Para Swimming Championships Singapore 2025 26 Sep 2025
An athlete celebrates her gold medal
Singapore's Para sports icon Yip Pin Xiu celebrates her first Worlds title at home, winning the 50m backstroke S2 gold medal amid thunderous cheers at the OCBC Aquatic Centre on Friday.
ⒸSimone Castrovillari / Singapore 2025
By AMP Media | For World Para Swimming

The OCBC Aquatic Centre exploded in joy on the sixth day of the Toyota World Para Swimming Championships Singapore 2025 as home favourite Yip Pin Xiu won the 50m backstroke S2 gold medal on Friday.

The 33-year-old Singaporean Para sports icon, who had won her country’s first Paralympic gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Games, defended her title in the event she has now triumphed at four consecutive world championships.

“It’s amazing that all of us came to cheer together. Tonight, we are extremely proud to be Singaporeans,” Yip said.

Explosive in the short distances, she has dominated the event for the past decade with three consecutive Paralympic titles in addition to her World Championship triumphs, and Friday’s fast final was no exception. After a strong start, no one could match the stroke rate of the home swimmer, who finished in 1:04.31 to the joy of numerous passionate red-and-white fans chanting her name.

“The crowd today has been amazing," said Yip, who blew kisses to the stands from the water.

“I don’t think I expected this turnout in any form but to see that Singaporeans are coming to support and watch us has really been phenomenal. I’m so grateful for all the support.”

 

Nation's president on the stands

Apart from her family, Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam was among the supporters giving Yip a standing ovation before the final, pushing her to bring home the host nation’s first gold medal of the championships.

“It really goes to show that they (Singapore’s people in power) see sports as an important thing in the country and being able to have an inclusive Para sport is also a priority for them,” Yip said.

“I’m grateful for the support we’ve received so far but also, down the road, hopefully we’ll grow as a nation, in Para sports as well, and that’s something to look forward to.”

And she had to work for it. Neutral Para Athlete Diana Koltsova and Italy’s Arjola Trimi did their best to ruin the party. Koltsova claimed silver 1.41 seconds behind Yip, and 11 hundredths of a second before Trimi who finished in bronze medal position. Moreover, all three podium finishers went under the fastest time in the world this year as well as the time that Yip won the Paralympic gold medal with last year.

 

Gelis' first world title at 43

Spanish veteran Albert Gelis broke the world record en route to winning the 100m backstroke S11 gold medal, clinching his first world title at the age of 43.

“It’s a great pride for me,” he said.

“I’m very happy for myself and my coach, and for all the people who have given us support throughout this season.”

The Girona-born swimmer, who won a relay bronze medal at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, showed age is just a number. 

He touched the wall in 1:05.14, knocking seven tenths of a second off the previous mark set by Ukraine’s Mykhailo Serbin at last year’s Paralympic Games. 

“I’m also an example for people who are in their 40s or 30s, that it is possible to achieve something. If you want to do it, you can,” Gelis said.

At the other end of the age spectrum, 17-year-old David Kratochvil from Czechia took the silver medal, 1.79 seconds behind the winner. Ukraine’s Danylo Chufarov took the bronze as his teammate Serbin had to settle for a fourth place.

Third gold for Chambers

USA’s Olivia Chambers clinched her third gold medal in the championships after winning the women’s 400m freestyle S13 final on Friday.

The Manchester 2023 silver medallist was the favourite to win this time, especially after Italy’s Carlotta Gilli, who had finished in second place behind Chambers at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, had been disqualified in the heats. 

And Chambers made no mistake in the final. She led the race from start to finish, steadily increasing the gap to Roisin Ni Riain from Ireland in second place, and sealed the victory in 4:31.43, beating Ni Riain by almost six seconds. Her teammate Grace Nuhfer finished in third place to ensure two medals for USA.

It is the fourth medal for the 100m breaststroke SB13 and 100m freestyle S13 champion, who has also claimed the women’s 50m freestyle S13 bronze less than 24 hours before Friday’s final.

 

Whiston finally gets a gold

Paralympic champion and world record-holder Brock Whiston from Great Britain won the women’s 200m individual medley SM8 gold medal, completing a full set of medals in the championships after her 400m freestyle S8 silver and 100m butterfly S8 bronze.

Neutral Para Athlete Viktoriia Ishchiulova had the lead after the butterfly and backstroke lengths before breaststroke and freestyle expert Whiston pushed past with an explosive second half of the race, claiming her first victory in Singapore by a margin of 3.56 seconds.

“I felt like coming into (the competition), I had a lot of pressure on myself,” the 28-year-old said.

“No one else was putting pressure on me but after winning gold at Paris (2024), I just wanted to come here and prove that it wasn’t just a one-off and that I deserve to be on the podium. And I can’t stop smiling, I’m super happy,” she explained.

With Sunday’s 100m breaststroke SB8 left to swim, Whiston was pleased with her fourth world championships so far.

“Two out of my three swims have been quicker than in Paris and after a major Games that’s all you can ask for, so I am absolutely buzzing,” said Whiston, who won the event in her World Championship debut at home in London, Great Britain, in 2019.

“Singapore has been amazing. I thought I’d struggle a lot with the time difference in the heats but the team has been supportive, and we’ve had the best prep camp that I’ve probably ever had for a competition, so it’s been great.”

China’s Zhu Hui took the bronze, more than three seconds ahead of Jessica Long from the US – who has six world titles in the event to her name. Long, who had led the race after the first 50m butterfly, had to settle for a fourth place in her last race of the championships. 

The most decorated World Championship Para swimmer made it to one podium in Singapore, claiming a bronze in Wednesday’s 100m freestyle S8.

Gabrielzinho finishes in style 

Brazil’s Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo finished off his Singapore 2025 campaign in style, adding a men’s 50m backstroke S2 gold medal to his world titles in 100m backstroke S2 and 200m freestyle S2. 

“Gabrielzinho” has won these three events at three consecutive World Championships as well as at Paris 2024 where he was branded “Pele of the pools” by French media.

Defne Kurt of Turkiye won the women’s 100m freestyle final in a Championship record time of 59.08, claiming her fourth gold medal of the championships. Great Britain’s Faye Rogers finished in second place, 1.38 seconds behind the winner, as France’s Emeline Pierre took bronze.

 

World record for GB in 4x100 relay

Great Britain’s Poppy Maskill, Harry Stewart, William Ellard and Bethany Firth set a new world record of 4:02.86 on the way to winning the fast mixed 4x100m medley relay S14 final, where silver medallists Brazil, with an American record time, finished 3.12 
seconds behind the winners.

As 23 world champions were crowned on Friday, swimmers from Australia, China, Colombia, Israel, Italy, Ukraine and United States, as well as Neutral Paralympic Athletes Yahor Shchalkanau, Daria Lukianenko and Igor Shchitkovskii, also topped the podium on the penultimate day of action in the OCBC Aquatic Centre. 

With one day left of the World Championships, China are on top of the medal table with 16 gold medals, chased by Italy in second place on 15. Ukraine and the United States, placed third and fourth respectively, are not far away, both on 14 gold medals, as Great Britain have 13 and Brazil 12.

 

Related Topics

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Pin Xiu Yip
Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo
Olivia Chambers
Albert Gelis

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