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World Series 2025: Yamaguchi smashes world record in inaugural Fuji meet
Japanese Paralympic stars Yamaguchi, Suzuki shine with gold to spur the home team to top of medals even as swimmers from Hong Kong, Philippines, Iran and Spain make a mark in inaugural meet in Fuji-Shizuoka 14 Apr 2025
The inaugural Para Swimming World Series meet in Fuji-Shizuoka, Japan had it all – fast timings, a new world record and breath-taking battles for medals.
Topping eight podiums over the weekend, the home squad were the best performers among 22 nations which competed at the Shizuoka Prefectural Fuji Swimming Pools.
Paralympic champion Naohide Yamaguchi stole the show at the weekend securing two gold medals including a world record.
New global mark
Yamaguchi (SM14/SB14) claimed the top place in the men’s 200m medley and 100m breaststroke, finishing the latter with a timing of 1:02.64 – a new world record in the SB14 class. He also added a silver medal to his tally, in the men’s 100m backstroke.
His teammate Eigo Tanaka had a similar performance and added two golds to the Japanese medals haul with victories in the men’s 50m backstroke and 50m butterfly.
The hosts also saw four other stars leaving a mark at the competition. Among the men, Takayuki Suzuki, Kota Kubota, and Anku Matsuda won their races while An Nishida was the Japanese female athlete to represent the country in the top of the podium.
Three-time Paralympic champion Takayuki Suzuki (SB3) showed his strength in the men’s 50m breaststroke and secured a gold medal as he did at the Beijing 2008 and Paris 2024 Paralympics. He also got a silver medal in the 100m freestyle.
Kubota (S8) was the winner in the men’s 100m backstroke, the same event in which he claimed his first-ever Paralympic medal last year in Paris, a silver one.
Matsuda (S14) triumphed in the men’s 100m butterfly and finished third in the 400m freestyle while Nishida (S7) grabbed the only female gold medal for Japan in the 50m butterfly.
🇯🇵 Uchu Tomita (S14) gave the home crowd something to cheer about, winning a gold for Japan in the men’s 100m freestyle.
— Para Swimming (@Para_swimming) April 10, 2025
🌊💪 More races coming tomorrow — check out today’s results and schedule for the next days: https://t.co/5FP11dCMdG#ParaSwimming #WorldSeries2025 pic.twitter.com/vazZ2D8ZYw
Asian domination
Besides the home nation, other three Asian countries also had their national anthems played at the Shizuoka Prefectural Fuji Swimming Pools.
Following the hosts on the medals table, Hong Kong, China left Fuji-Shizuoka shining with five golds. Tsun Lok Cheung (S14) and Chiu Yee Lau (S14) were responsible for four of them, once they both triumphed in the men’s and women’s 100m and 200m freestyle, respectively.
Paralympic silver medallist Yui Lam Chan (S14) took home the fifth gold medal for Hong Kong after winning in the women’s 100m butterfly. She also secured two other silver medals in the 200m medley and 100m backstroke.
Philippines and Iran were the other Asian nations in the top of the podium with Angel Mae Otom (S5) winning the women’s 50m backstroke while Abolf Zarif Pouresmaeilyazdi (S9) finished first in the men’s 50m freestyle.
That’s a wrap from Fuji! 🏁🇯🇵
— Para Swimming (@Para_swimming) April 12, 2025
Spain 🇪🇸, Japan 🇯🇵, and Iran 🇮🇷 closed out the final day with golden moments at the Para Swimming World Series Fuji-Shizuoka 2025.
🔗 Check the full results: https://t.co/5FP11dCMdG#WorldSeries2025 #ParaSwimming #FujiShizuoka pic.twitter.com/DeliGdrPPv
Individual ranking
Spain also had their national anthem played during the competition after Paralympic champion Anastasiya Dmytriv Dmytriv (S9) being the winner in the women’s 100m backstroke.
However, the title of the most decorated athlete in the inaugural Para Swimming World Series Fuji-Shizuoka 2025 went to Daria Lukianenko, a Neutral Paralympic Athlete, who collected three gold medals. Lukianenko (S11/SM11/SB11) triumphed in the women’s 50m freestyle, 200m medley, and 100m breaststroke.
What’s next?
The Para Swimming World Series 2025 heads to the halfway point of the season as the competition takes off from Fuji-Shizuoka, Japan to across the world to the United States for the fifth meet of the year.
Indianapolis, USA is the next city to host the event from 24 to 26 April.
The full Para Swimming World Series 2025 calendar is available here.
