LA STORY: Para athletes off and racing

NEW year, new dreams, new Paralympic cycle.

The 2025 Para Swimming World Series kicked off a new season of racing with the Dolphins dominating the first meet of the season at the Melbourne Aquatic Centre this month.

In the first of nine meets scheduled for the year, 72 athletes from eight countries competed at the meet which marked the beginning of the four-year cycle towards the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.

The carrot of 2025 racing is the World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore in September.

Paris Paralympic stars Ben Hance (S14), Tim Hodge (S9/SB8) and Chloe Osborn (S7) headlined the stacked line-up with Dolphins winning 21 out of 23 gold medals but noting Australians accounted for more than half the entries.

Hance put on a show in the men’s 100m backstroke to win gold (56.74). The Paralympic champion touched in less than a second behind his world record time (56.52) that he set in the 100m backstroke (S14) heats at Paris. Hodge placed second at 1:03.76 followed by Jesse Aungles (S8, 1:09.94).

Hodge proved he’s still got the golden touch after winning the men’s 100m butterfly and 50m backstroke multi-class events. The triple Paralympian also picked up a silver in the men’s 50m breaststroke, 50m backstroke and 100m backstroke, plus a bronze in the 100m freestyle.

Osborn dominated the women’s freestyle field with three gold medals in the 50, 100 and 400 events. Fellow Dolphin Maddie McTernan (S14) picked up the remaining women’s 200m freestyle gold as well as the 100m backstroke gold and bronze in the 100m freestyle.

Austria’s Andreas Ernhofer (SM4) and New Zealand’s Josh Wimer (SB8) were the only two visitors to win gold. They triumphed in the men’s 150m medley and the men’s 50m breaststroke respectively.

Aside from the Para-athlete classification opportunity provided at the internationally recognised meet, newly appointed National Paralympic Head Coach Mel Tantrum highlighted its importance in team and talent development for a new wave of Dolphins.

“We embrace every opportunity to race at home, especially at meets like this (World Series). It’s not just a great early hit out for our returning Dolphins but it also helped identify upcoming talent, like Mia (Hogan),” Tantrum said.

Mia Hogan (pictured, S13/visually impaired) was the youngest entrant at 12-years-old and had a golden performance that has flagged her ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2026 and LA 2028. Hailing from Albury Swim Club in New South Wales, Hogan won gold in the women’s 50m breaststroke in her first international meet.

“By hosting the World Series in our backyard it provides a more comfortable setting for our developing athletes to make their mark, with a sprinkle of international flavour,” Tantrum said.

“Progressing from a fast heat to a fast final, and relay racing practice, were other opportunities that we made the most of in Melbourne as we start the road to LA 2028 all together.”

Paralympian Emily Beecroft (S9), swimming with the USC Spartans on the Sunshine Coast, won three medals at the World Series meet and said: “I’m allowing myself to focus on my university studies and taking a more relaxed approach to my swimming life. I’m just focusing on getting back into racing, not stressing too much about the outcome but trying to enjoy the process instead.”

The next major meet for Para athletes is the Australian Age and Open Championships at Brisbane Aquatic Centre in April, followed by selection trials for the World Para Swimming Championships to be held in Adelaide in June.