Competition Wrap - 2025 Para Swimming World Series (Melbourne)
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The Paralympic pathway team have competed at the 2025 Para Swimming World Series in Melbourne over the weekend. The team of nine swimmers achieved some great results across three days of racing, coming up against a strong contingent of Australians plus swimmers from other countries around the world.
Collectively, the team were at the medal podium eleven times across the weekend, with seven medals in the open age and four medals in the youth category (aged 18 and under).
Continuing on from her strong form at the same competition in 2024, Gaby Smith (Vikings – coached by Todd Mason) secured a gold medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke multi-class (1:21.96) ahead of Australians Ruby Storm (1:23.30) and Jasmine Greenwood (1:27.51).
Josh Willmer (Pukekohe – coached by Sheldon Kemp) was the other swimmer to win a gold in the open field in the men’s 50m breaststroke multi-class (34.16). In a continuation of the battle between the pair at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Willmer narrowly beat Australian Tim Hodge (34.20) ahead of Mohammad Abd Halim (Malaysia – 34.72) for bronze.
Rylee Sayer (Matamata – coached by Graeme Laing) continued to showcase her development, with the 16-year-old claiming four medals. On the first day she won a silver medal (38.47) in the women’s 50m butterfly multi-class behind Australian Jasmin Fullgrabe (34.10) and ahead of Gemma Sellick (Australia – 35.92). With the same swim, Sayer also secured a gold medal in the youth category, where Erin Knox (SwimZone Racing – coached by Frank Tourelle) joined her on the podium with bronze (35.69).
On the final evening, Sayer repeated the dose with a silver (35.30) in the women’s 50m freestyle multi-class, marginally behind Australian Chloe Osborn (35.07), with Mia Hogan (Australia – 29.70) also on the podium. This swim also resulted in another youth gold medal for Sayer to complete her strong weekend of racing in Melbourne.
Asher Smith-Franklin (North Shore – coached by Graham Hill) was another of our swimmers to continue his development, where he achieved two medals and three New Zealand records across the weekend. Smith-Franklin (2:16.87) produced a silver medal performance in the men’s 200m individual medley multi-class, where Australians Ricky Betar (2:15.04 – gold) and Col Pearse (2:17.29 – bronze) joined him on the podium.
Smith-Franklin broke his SB14 100m breaststroke NZ Record twice in the day to claim bronze (1:10.63). Australian Jake Michel (1:07.07) stood atop the podium, with the silver awarded to Tim Hodge (1:13.17) and Josh Willmer (1:14.67) in fourth. Smith-Franklin also broke his S14 200m freestyle NZ record on the opening day (2:03.16) where he placed fourth.
Tupou Neiufi (Mt Eden – coached by Don McKenna) won a bronze medal in an event she isn’t as renowned for, the women’s 50m breaststroke multi-class (48.37).
Charlotte Murphy (Aquagym – coached by Emma Smith) won a youth silver medal in the women’s 400m freestyle multi-class on day two, smashing her S6 16&U NZ age record in the process (8:14.64). She also lowered her NZ age records on four other occasions over the weekend, twice in S6 100m freestyle (1:56.13 and 1:54.01), the S6 50m butterfly (55.88) and the SM6 200m individual medley (4:27.14).
With the team having completed a training camp in the lead-up to the World Series in Melbourne, Willmer believes the past week has helped set up his year.
“For me personally, it has been quite challenging coming off Paris and having a break over Christmas and New Year. The camp was enjoyable and it provided a lot more opportunity to grow my knowledge about being a high performance athlete and allow me to elevate to the next level.”
Willmer was happy with his results in Melbourne.
“Going into racing in Melbourne, I didn’t have many expectations, but taking out the gold and a fourth in my breaststroke events was a good outcome that I’m super happy with.”
Willmer is buoyed by the development of his fellow swimmers in the Paralympic pathway programme.
“Coming into this event as a senior on the team with lots of young developing swimmers, I’m excited to see how everyone on the team can continue to improve and see Para swimming in New Zealand continue to grow.”
Swimming NZ’s Paralympic Programme Lead, Simon Mayne, has been pleased with the way the group has started the LA cycle.
“The Para pathway squad has had an incredibly intense 11 days of training and racing, navigating both physical challenges and weather extremes. The opportunity for senior swimmers to share stories has clearly made an impact on everyone involved, not just in terms of results but also in enhancing self-care and time management, both of which are key for long-term success.”
Following the results from Melbourne, Mayne is looking forward to what is to come over the next few months for the programme.
“The open and youth medals were better than expected and the swimmers now have clear areas to focus on in their home programmes as they head into the next phase of their preparation. With another major regional championships ahead and the anticipation of the 2025 Apollo Projects NZ Swimming Championships, it’s exciting to think about how this could lead to an even bigger and stronger team for Singapore later this year.”
Congratulations to the team for their performances at the camp and series in Melbourne.
If you’d like to catch up on any of the action from the weekend, please use the links below to access the results or livestream.
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