Day 6 Finals Wrap World Para Champs

THE emerging and the established, Callum Simpson (pictured) and Rowan Crothers won two more gold medals for Australia on the penultimate night of the 2025 Singapore World Para Championships.

Simpson, in an event he hasn’t raced since Australian Open Championships in April, pushed himself to a second world title in a massive 4.37 second PB to win the men’s 200m individual medley S8.

“Honestly, I can’t remember too much of that race but I knew I wanted to do my country and everyone who got me this far proud. I’ve done so much hard work and to see it pay off this much is something I couldn’t have dreamed of. It’s a big motivator going into LA,” he said.

Like Simpson, Canada’s Reid Maxwell, 18, made his international debut in Paris. Maxwell touched second at 2:26.72, behind Simpson (2:25.49). Greece’s Dimosthenis Michalentzakis won bronze (2:27.24).

“If he (Reid Maxwell) wasn’t in that race, I probably wouldn’t have gone that quick because I always wanted to get the touch on him. We get along very well and I can’t wait to see what’s next for both of us.”

Singapore marked Simpson’s debut world championships and what a debut it has been with the 18-year-old making the podium in all four of his events – a perfect record that only fellow Dolphin Tim Hodge was on par to match until he missed out on the medals in tonight’s 100m backstroke S9.

This week, Hodge has won the 200m IM, claimed a 100m fly silver and a relay bronze, and tomorrow will compete in his fifth event – the 100m breaststroke SB8.

Simpson said: “I looked up to Tim Hodge when I was younger, so to be on the same trajectory as him and to get a medal in four events at a world championship, like he can, is something incredible.”

In all, the Sunshine-Coast athlete broke five Oceania records and claimed the 100m freestyle and 200 IM gold, 50m freestyle silver and a 400m freestyle bronze.

The other gold of the night was won by Crothers, the seventh world championship gold of his career, and he leaves Singapore the undisputed sprint king after winning the 100m freestyle in 51.05 on back of his gold in the 50m freestyle S10 on the first night.

“It feels pretty awesome to come away with seven world championship titles. Even though I’ve been on team for what, 12 years, I still feel like a rookie and I still feel like I’m learning every time I get in the pool,” Crothers said.

“Getting to train with some of the best able-bodied athletes, like (Olympic medallist) Matt Temple, at SASI in Adelaide has helped me learn so much about how they (Olympians) approach every session, every recovery and how they do the ‘one percenters’.

“I think the whole Paralympic team, like Tommy (Gallagher) at St Peters, is lifting their standards year after year and I’m so excited to see what that’s going to mean for the team in a few years time.”

Gallagher was quick off the blocks and first at the turn but couldn’t hold on to the lead as Crothers, Stefano Raimondi (ITA) and Ihor Nimchenko (UKR) caught him. Gallagher finished fourth (52.09) and admitted that while disappointed, he had learnt a lot.

A delighted Alex Tuckfield went under the 53-second mark in the 100m freestyle S10 for the first time in his career and finished fifth (52.93).

In the women’s 50m freestyle S7, Chloe Osborn placed 6^th in a PB of 34.21. The world record holder Mallory Weggemann (USA) won her 17^th world championship gold in 32.58. Osborn will contest the 100m freestyle S7 tomorrow on the final day of competition.

Poppy Wilson closed out her Singapore campaign with a season’s best time of 1:04.21 in the women’s 100m freestyle S10. Wilson placed seventh in what was her fourth finals appearance this meet.

For full results see here: https://www.paralympic.org/swimming/live-results