World Series 2023: Stars return to action in Mexico

Over four months after the last leg in Limoges, France and a brief pause for the World Championships in Manchester, the Citi Para Swimming World Series returns for the penultimate meet of the 2023 season in Mexico.

Guadalajara, the seventh most populous Mexican city, welcomes nearly 240 Para swimmers from 19 different countries at the Centro Acuatico Metropolitano for four days of multi-class races from Thursday to Sunday (5 to 8 October). 

The Mexico 2023 Citi Para Swimming World Series will be live streamed on the World Para Swimming website and Facebook page.

Host city of the 2011 Parapan American Games, Guadalajara staged a remarkable moment in the career of one of the most experienced Mexican Para swimmers, Fabiola Ramirez. 

She was just 21 years old and put her country on the podium with a silver medal in the 50m breaststroke, “which made me very proud” as she recalls. Almost ten years later, she was again putting Mexico on the podium but this time at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. 

She took a bronze in the women’s 100m backstroke S2, the same event in which she bagged one of her two bronze medals at the Manchester 2023 World Championships two months ago. In the British city, Ramirez also received the trophy for the title of the 2022 World Series in the women's high-support needs (S/SB 1-3) category.

Now she wants to enjoy the opportunity to swim in front of the home fans again, this time as one of the most experienced and successful Mexican athletes. She has also set some important goals for the World Series in which she will be competing in the women’s 150m medley. 

“The first goal is to improve my marks. I’ve always been convinced that when I improve my times, positive results come automatically,” Ramirez said. “Furthermore, being at home has a very important meaning in my life and I would really like to repeat the results of that Parapan, winning medals for my country.”

Paralympic and world champions

Ramirez is one of the 152 Mexican athletes attending the competition. Among them are Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champions Arnulfo Castorena, Diego Lopez Diaz, and Jesus Hernandez Hernandez.

Castorena (S2), also a Manchester 2023 world champion, competes in the men’s 150m medley and in his favourite men’s 50m breaststroke – the event in which he took all his three Paralympic gold medals and the victory in Manchester this year.

Hernández (S4) will swim two sprint races, the men’s 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle. Diaz (S3) will also be competing in those two events in addition to the men’s 50m breaststroke and 100m freestyle.

The women’s events will see in action another Mexican Paralympic champion, Nely Herrera (S4) who will jump in the pool for the women’s 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke and 50m breaststroke.

Among the international athletes Guadalajara welcomes for the Mexico 2023 World Series, there will be some Colombian stars who were recently crowned world champions at the Manchester 2023 Allianz Para Swimming World Championships.
The largest visiting delegation, Colombia will be represented by their golden trio Carlos Serrano, Nelson Crispin, and Sara Vargas. Each one of them grabbed one gold medal at the Worlds two months ago.

Vargas (S7) competes in the women’s 50m, 100m, and 400m freestyle in addition to the 100m backstroke, 50m butterfly, and 200m medley events. Crispin (S6) and Serrano (S7) will share the spotlight in four races, men’s 50m and 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, and 50m butterfly. Besides that, Crispin is also competing in the 200m medley.

World Series so far 

The Citi Para Swimming World Series has already travelled across four continents this year with Africa joining the list in November as Egyptian capital Cairo wraps up the 2023 season.

This year’s World Series kicked off in Melbourne, Australia in February. Mexico will be the second stop in the Americas this year following Minneapolis, USA that hosted the meet in April. In the same month, the World Series landed in Asia with a stop in Singapore.

In Europe the World Series took place in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy and Sheffield, Great Britain in March and Berlin, Germany and Limoges, France in May.

More information about the 2023 Citi Para Swimming World Series can be found here.