The 2025 World Para Swimming Championships concluded on Saturday, Sept. 27, from Singapore in historic fashion for the U.S.<\/p>\n
Team USA finished the meet with 35 medals, tying Italy for the most gold medals (18). The U.S. had six silver and 11 bronze.<\/p>\n
Ukraine had 49 total medals to top the medal table. Italy had 46, Great Britain had 40, Brazil had 39. China finished with 33.<\/p>\n
Katie Kubiak<\/strong> and Leanne Smith<\/strong> led the way for Team USA, each finishing the meet as the nation\u2019s most decorated athletes with seven medals apiece. Both capped their standout performances on day seven with dominant gold-medal swims in their final events. Kubiak claimed the women\u2019s 200m freestyle S4 to bring her tally to four gold, one silver and two bronze in her world championship debut, while Smith secured her 13th career world title with a win in the women\u2019s 100m freestyle S3, leaving Singapore with three gold, two silver and two bronze.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really happy to come out here and be able to perform,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a really long week, but to close out with a few gold medals and feel as best as I could at this point, I\u2019m just really proud.\u201d<\/p>\n For Kubiak, the event shone a light on the power that Para sport has brought into her life in a short period of time.<\/p>\n \u201cFor new athletes, I think it\u2019s never too late to start,\u201d Kubiak said. \u201cJust taking that first step and leaning into it is definitely the scariest, but it\u2019s so worth it. I\u2019ve been able to redefine what sport is for me in such a special way, I\u2019m so grateful to the people that have been around me\u2026It\u2019s really helped me grow as both a person and an athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n Recent three-time world champion Olivia Chambers<\/strong> extended her dominance in Singapore with another gold, this time in the women\u2019s 200m individual medley S13. Chambers closed the meet with five total medals (four gold, one bronze), highlighted by a victory over the reigning world champion and Paralympic gold medalist in a rematch from Paris. Fellow S13 world champion Grace Nuhfer<\/strong> capped her competition with a strong showing, narrowly missing the podium with a fourth-place finish in the same race.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t even know what to expect coming here,\u201d Chambers said. \u201cI just thought it would be really cool to come be here in Singapore, and I had no idea what I could throw down.\u201d<\/p>\n In an all-American showdown in the women\u2019s 100m freestyle S7, defending champion Morgan Stickney<\/strong> surged in the final meters to capture her second gold of the championships. The victory adds to her earlier win in the 400m freestyle S7 and brings her career tally to five world titles.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted to get on the podium, and knowing that I had a shot at doing that, I was really excited,\u201d Stickney said. \u201cI just missed out on gold in Paris so being able to come back and get gold here is amazing. I feel like the 100 free isn\u2019t my best event, and I always go in as an underdog. I go in having that mentality so that always seems to help me.\u201d<\/p>\n In her sole race of the meet, Paralympian Christie Raleigh Crossley<\/strong> came from an eighth-place seeding in the morning preliminary heats to claim a come-from-behind bronze. After a year of health complications, Raleigh Crossley reflected on the year\u2019s struggles and how much the win meant to her and her family.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely unbelievable,\u201d said Raleigh Crossley. \u201cI was definitely not expecting to podium. Just being here first and foremost is the biggest accomplishment. I\u2019m so happy and proud to come given battling cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe next goal was to make finals, and I accomplished that this morning. I can\u2019t thank my support staff enough. Everybody who has been helping me through this really tough time. I really wish my kids were here, but I\u2019m happy that I have something to bring back to show them.\u201d<\/p>\nWorld Para Day 7 Winners<\/h2>\n