2023 Para Worlds: Simone Barlaam Goes Six-For-Six As Italy Caps Off Dominant Showing

2023 WORLD PARA SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Italians finished the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships with a flourish on Sunday, securing five more gold medals to bring their final tally to 26 to top the medal table.

The top performer of the entire meet was Italy’s Simone Barlaam, who won two golds on the final night to bring his total to six.

Barlaam set a new world record in the men’s 50 freestyle S9, clocking 23.96 to bring the mark under 24 seconds for the first time.

Barlaam, who held the previous record at 24.00 from the 2022 Worlds in Portugal, won the world title in the event for the fourth straight time.

“It feels incredible. The 24-second barrier has been there for a long time and I’ve hit 24.00 a few times. So I was really stoked with that swim, and then the relay just 10 minutes later was tough but good fun. We managed to bring it home so I can’t ask for a better finish of the World Championships,” Barlaam said.

Later in the session, Barlaam anchored the Italian team to victory in the mixed 400 free relay 34pts, combining with Francesca PalazzoFederico Bicelli and Alessia Scortechini in a time of 4:03.25.

Another Italian who wrapped up an impressive competition on Sunday was Stefano Raimondi, who won his fifth individual gold medal of the meet in the men’s 100 backstroke S10.

Italy also had wins from Monica Boggioni in the women’s 100 free S5 and Carlotta Gilli in the women’s 200 IM SM13.

OTHER WORLD RECORDS

In addition to Barlaam’s 50 free, three more world records fell on the final night of action, including one that had been on the books for 15 years.

In the men’s 100 free S7, Ukrainian Andrii Trusov clocked 1:00.09 to break the previous mark of 1:00.34, set by Great Britain’s David Roberts back in 2008.

In the men’s 100 breast SB7, Colombia’s Carlos Serrano touched in 1:10.32, earning gold for the first time after a string of three silvers, with the world record coming to boot.

Serrano set the previous world record of 1:11.18 in March of 2022.

“I did my best in every race, after three silver I got the gold and I am going for more. This medal is for my kids Sara Luna and Daniel Matias, everything for them,” Serrano said.

China’s Jiang Yuyan also recorded the fastest time ever in the women’s 50 fly S6, registering a 34.55 to knock .01 off her previous mark set at the Tokyo Paralympics. Jiang wrapped the competition with five medals, including three golds.

MEDAL TABLE RACE

With the Italians well in front, Ukraine overtook China on the final day to finish second on the medal table, winning three gold medals to bring their total to 20, surpassing China’s 18.

The Ukrainian team won the most total medals with 55, while the Brazilians and British teams were fourth and fifth on the medal table, representing the only other two nations to earn double-digit golds.

Australia earned its best finish in over a decade to place sixth, while Canada had its highest in 15 years to take seventh.

Medal Table – Top 10

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Italy (ITA) 26 15 11 52
2 Ukraine (UKR) 20 13 22 55
3 China (CHN) 18 20 13 51
4 Brazil (BRA) 16 11 19 46
5 Great Britain (GBR)* 14 14 10 38
6 Australia (AUS) 9 7 14 30
7 Canada (CAN) 9 4 6 19
8 Spain (ESP) 6 13 9 29
9 Netherlands (NED) 6 10 3 19
10 United States (USA) 6 7 12 25

ALL DAY 7 MEDALISTS

Women’s 100 Breaststroke SB8

  • Gold: Anastasiya Dmytriv Dmytriv (ESP), 1:20.01
  • Silver: Ellen Keane (IRL), 1:21.43
  • Bronze: Katarina Roxon (CAN), 1:25.25

Men’s 100 Breaststroke SB8

  • Gold: Carlos Serrano (COL), 1:10.32 WR
  • Silver: Cicente Almonacid (CHI), 1:11.52
  • Bronze: Xu Haijiao (CHN), 1:12.15

Women’s 100 Backstroke S10

  • Gold: Bianka Pap (HUN), 1:07.59
  • Silver: Lisa Kruger (NED), 1:09.85
  • Bronze: Anaelle Roulet (FRA), 1:10.74

Men’s 100 Backstroke S10

  • Gold: Stefano Raimondi (ITA), 59.40
  • Silver: Riccardo Menciotti (ITA), 1:00.73
  • Bronze: Ihor Nimchenko (UKR), 1:01.47

Women’s 400 Freestyle S11

  • Gold: Liesette Bruinsma (NED), 5:06.25
  • Silver: Cai Liewen (CHN), 5:12.51
  • Bronze: McClain Hermes (USA), 5:18.66

Men’s 400 Freestyle S11

  • Gold: David Kratochvil (CZE), 4:34.37
  • Silver: Rogier Dorsman (NED), 4:34.46
  • Bronze: Hua Dongdong (CHN), 4:38.20

Women’s 100 Freestyle S7

  • Gold: Morgan Stickney (USA), 1:09.29
  • Silver: Sara Vargas Blanco (COL), 1:12.15
  • Bronze: Tess Routliffe (CAN), 1:14.74

Men’s 100 Freestyle S7

Men’s 200 Freestyle S4

  • Gold: Ami Omer Dadaon (ISR), 2:51.58
  • Silver: Angel De Jesus Camacho Ramirez (MEX), 3:00.63
  • Bronze: Cameron Leslie (NZL), 3:05.45

Women’s 200 IM SM13

  • Gold: Carlotta Gilli (ITA), 2:24.58
  • Silver: Olivia Chambers (USA), 2:28.23
  • Bronze: Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago (BRA), 2:28.84

Men’s 200 IM SM13

  • Gold: Alex Portal (FRA), 2:06.16
  • Silver: Thomas Van Wanrooij (NED), 2:11.78
  • Bronze: Kyrylo Garaschchenko (UKR), 2:13.28

Women’s 100 Freestyle S5

  • Gold: Monica Boggioni (ITA), 1:20.16
  • Silver: Suzanna Hext (GBR), 1:21.60
  • Bronze: Iryna Poida (UKR), 1:22.03

Men’s 100 Freestyle S5

  • Gold: Oleksandr Komarov (UKR), 1:08.72
  • Silver: Francesco Bocciardo (ITA), 1:10.48
  • Bronze: Wang Lichao (CHN), 1:13.12

Women’s 100 Freestyle S3

  • Gold: Marta Fernandez Infante (ESP), 1:38.64
  • Silver: Ellie Challis (GBR), 1:41.92
  • Bronze: Susana Schnarndorf (BRA), 1:58.88

Men’s 100 Freestyle S3

  • Gold: Denys Ostapchenko (UKR), 1:35.97
  • Silver: Diego Lopez Diaz (MEX), 1:39.74
  • Bronze: Vincenzo Boni (ITA), 1:42.22

Women’s 50 Butterfly S6

  • Gold: Jiang Yuyan (CHN), 34.55 WR
  • Silver: Verena Schott (GER), 36.50
  • Bronze: Ellie Marks (USA), 36.80

Men’s 50 Butterfly S6

  • Gold: Laurent Chardard (FRA), 31.03 ER
  • Silver: Wang Jinang (CHN), 31.27
  • Bronze: Nelson Crispin Corzo (COL), 31.89

Women’s 50 Freestyle S9

  • Gold: Mariana Ribeiro (BRA), 27.70 CR
  • Silver: Alexa Leary (AUS), 28.03
  • Bronze: Florianne Bultje (NED), 29.36

Men’s 50 Freestyle S9

  • Gold: Simone Barlaam (ITA), 23.96 WR
  • Silver: Fredrik Solberg (NOR), 25.16
  • Bronze: Ugo Didier (FRA), 25.79

Women’s 100 Butterfly S14

  • Gold: Yui Lam Chan (HKG), 1:05.02
  • Silver: Poppy Maskill (GBR), 1:05.04
  • Bronze: Bethany Firth (GBR), 1:05.32

Men’s 100 Butterfly S14

  • Gold: Gabriel Bandeira (BRA), 54.64
  • Silver: Alexander Hillhouse (DEN), 55.48
  • Bronze: Benjamin Hance (AUS), 55.90

Mixed 4×100 Freestyle Relay 34pts

  • Gold: Italy, 4:03.25
  • Silver: France, 4:06.84
  • Bronze: Brazil, 4:07.27

In This Story

0
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

About James Sutherland

James Sutherland

James swam five years at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, specializing in the 200 free, back and IM. He finished up his collegiate swimming career in 2018, graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 2019 he completed his graduate degree in sports journalism. Prior to going to Laurentian, James swam …

Read More »