World Series 2026: Elena Semechin makes her return as strong field set for Berlin

Berlin is back. After one year away from the Para Swimming World Series calendar, the German capital returns to host the circuit's fifth stop of 2026. The Para Swimming World Series Berlin 2026 takes place from 7 to 9 May at the Schwimm- & Sprunghalle im Europasportpark (SSE), welcoming 414 athletes from 61 nations in what is the most attended World Series meet to date. The message from Berlin is clear: the wait was worth it. 

The city is not the only one making a comeback. Elena Semechin (S12/SB12), the two-time Paralympic champion in the women's 100m breaststroke, returns to competitive swimming after taking time away to welcome her first child, Klaus Philip. As Berlin reclaims its place on the World Para Swimming stage, one of its most celebrated swimmers reclaims hers. 

All the action will be live streamed here

A champion returns 

Previously known as Elena Krawzow, Semechin is one of the most decorated Para swimmers in German history. She is entered in the women's 50m freestyle and 100m breaststroke — the event in which she claimed both her Paralympic titles — making this one of the most watched returns of the 2026 season 

With 30 athletes, Germany enter the competition as the largest delegation bringing considerable strength beyond Semechin.  

Taliso Engel (SM13/SB13), reigning Paralympic and world champion in the men's 100m breaststroke SB13, further underlined his dominance at the Toyota World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore in 2025, where he claimed gold and broke the world record in his signature event. In Berlin, he will compete in the men's 100m breaststroke and 200m individual medley. 

Other Paralympic champions will be in action defending the home nation, such as Josia Topf (S3) and Tanja Scholz (S3). 

Topf lines up in five events — the men's 50m and 200m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 50m butterfly and 200m individual medley — making him one of the most active competitors in the German squad while Scholz (S3), also a Paralympic champion, will compete in the women's 50m freestyle and 150m individual medley. 

The Para Swimming World Series France 2026 wrapped at the AquaVal - Centre aquatique Alice-Milliat, marking the fourth stop of the season. pic.twitter.com/FEpzo4xn7A

— Para Swimming (@Para_swimming) May 4, 2026

Laureus winner in the water 

One of the most high-profile names in the international field is Brazil's Gabriel dos Santos Araújo (S2/SM2). On 20 April in Madrid, Araújo was named the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability, recognising an outstanding 2025 season that included a hat-trick of gold medals at the World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore. In Berlin, he will compete in the men's 50m and 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 150m individual medley. 

Great Britain arrive with 28 athletes, the second-largest delegation at the meet.  

Among their key competitors is Paralympic champion Poppy Maskill (S14) who will be in action across three events: the women's 100m and 200m freestyle, and 100m backstroke. 

Switzerland follow with 27 athletes, led by Nora Meister (S6), who arrives in Berlin having competed in three consecutive World Series stops — Barcelona, Lignano Sabbiadoro and France — across the past two months. Her consistency throughout the season has been remarkable, and Berlin offers yet another opportunity to build on a run that has established her as one of the standout performers of the 2026 circuit. 

Among the athletes making the quickest turnaround between meets is the Peruvian team, several of whose members competed in France just days ago. Rodrigo Santillan, Isaias Sono, Dunia Felices and Micaela Farfan are all set to race again in Berlin, continuing a demanding stretch of the World Series calendar.