World Series 2026: Paralympic stars shine as Brazil dominate third stop

Paralympic stars Rogier Dorsman and Alice Tai shone with multiple medals as the Para Swimming World Series Barcelona 2026 was successfully held at the Club Natació Barcelona from 19 to 22 March. Barcelona 2026 marked the third meet of the season following earlier stops in Gold Coast, Australia and Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy.

Across four days of racing, the Barcelona meet provided a clear benchmark in the 2026 Para Swimming World Series calendar, with athletes consolidating early-season form and establishing positions in the individual rankings. 

Brazil finished as the most successful nation in the Catalan city, while Spain delivered a strong overall medal return as host. At the same time, several swimmers produced multiple gold medal performances, contributing to a tightly contested individual ranking at this stage of the season.

The full results of the Para Swimming World Series Barcelona 2026 can be found here.
 

Brazilian dominance

Brazil topped Barcelona 2026 medal table with four gold and two silver medals, driven by performances in the S14 class through Arthur Ribeiro Xavier and Beatriz Flausino.

Xavier recorded the most notable individual results of the meet, after winning gold in the men’s 100m butterfly, 100m and 200m freestyle, and added a silver medal in the 100m backstroke. These results placed him at the first place in the individual rankings, jointly shared by world champion Katie Kubiak (S5) of the United States.

Kubiak secured three gold medals in the women’s 50m butterfly, 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle events, along with a second place in the 100m freestyle.

Multiple-event winners included five-time Paralympic champion Rogier Dorsman (S11/SB11/SM11) of the Netherlands, who claimed gold in the men’s 50m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 200m individual medley, alongside a bronze in the 100m freestyle. 

Yui Lam Chan of Hong Kong, China, also topped the podium in three events – women’s 200m individual medley, 100m butterfly and 200m freestyle.

Beatriz Flausino contributed to Brazil’s overall lead with gold in the women’s 100m breaststroke and silver in the 200m individual medley.

Finals session 🔥 The last dance in Barcelona 🇪🇸

18 medals up for grabs as the Para Swimming World Series Barcelona 2026 reaches its decisive moment 🥇

Everything on the line, every race matters — don’t miss it LIVE 🎥 https://t.co/cT7fcpXb7n#ParaSwimming #WorldSeries2026 pic.twitter.com/ksjVTuGLCz

— Para Swimming (@Para_swimming) March 22, 2026

Home success

Spain secured second place in Barcelona 2026 medal standings, finishing with three gold, 11 silver and seven bronze medals. The host nation’s results reflected both experience and depth across classifications.

Gold medals were delivered by Miguel Luque, Inigo Llopis Sanz and Teresa Perales. Competing in the S2/SM2 class, Perales won the women’s 150m individual medley and added silver medals in the 50m and 200m freestyle. Luque (SB3/SM3) secured gold in the men’s 50m breaststroke and silver in the 150m medley, while Llopis Sanz (S8) won the men’s 100m backstroke.

Other nations which reached the top of the podium during the Barcelona meet were Great Britain and France each with two gold medals. 

Three-time Paralympic champion Alice Tai (S8) won the women’s 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle for Great Britain while France’s gold medals came through Dimitri Granjux (SM3) in the men’s 150m individual medley and Laurent Chardard (S6) in the men’s 50m butterfly.

Four additional nations recorded at least one gold medal in the competition. Germany’s Tanja Scholz (SB2) won the women’s 50m breaststroke, Switzerland’s Nora Meister (S6) took gold in the women’s 400m freestyle, Finland’s Nader Khalili (S14) won the men’s 400m freestyle, and Ukraine’s Yaroslav Semenenko (S5) finished first in the men’s 50m backstroke.

Two world records set the tone for a remarkable opening day at the Para Swimming World Series Barcelona 2026.

🇪🇸 Teresa Perales led the charge in the women’s 150m medley SM2, breaking the WR twice — first in the heats (4:27.26) and then again in the final (4:25.16). pic.twitter.com/W8wae4ea2D

— Para Swimming (@Para_swimming) March 20, 2026

Season ahead

After consecutive Para Swimming World Series meets in Lignano Sabbiadoro and Barcelona, the 2026 calendar pauses for over a month before resuming with a concentrated block of competition in May.

The next stage of the Para Swimming World Series 2026 will begin in Paris, France from 1 to 3 May, followed by event in Berlin, Germany from 7 to 9 May. The series will then move to Asia, with Fuji-Shizuoka, Japan hosting the final meet of the month from 29 to 31 May.

Later in the season, the circuit will continue in Guadalajara, Mexico in August, before concluding with two final meets in November in Lima, Peru and Abu Dhabi, UAE. The latter will mark the first Para Swimming World Series event staged in the Middle East.