The Peruvian Swimming Federation has finalized a four-swimmer roster that will compete at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
Alexia Sotomayor, Diego Balbi, Yasmin Silva, and Cielo Moya will represent Peru, with the swimming events scheduled for July 27 to August 3. The specific events they will contest have not yet been publicized.
Sotomayor, who will begin her collegiate career at Arizona State University this fall, was born in Lima but spent most of her youth training at Saint Andrew’s School in Florida. After graduating from high school this past May, she returned to Lima to train with Marisabel Barragan in preparation for the World Championships next month.
Sotomayor placed 34th in the 200 backstroke at the 2023 World Championships with a time of 2:20.78, then improved to 25th in the same event at the 2024 Doha Worlds, clocking 2:20.05. In Doha, she also swam 1:04.41 in the 100 back for 33rd. At the 2022 World Junior Championships, she finished 7th in the 100 back, and her top result at the 2023 edition was 21st in the 200 back.
Her personal bests are 1:02.67 in the 100 back and 2:13.80 in the 200 back. The latter is the current Peruvian national record, set in 2022. She is also strong in butterfly, with best times of 26.97 in the 50 and 1:00.61 in the 100. In total, Sotomayor holds 20 national records across short course and long course meters, in both individual and relay events.
Sotomayor’s Saint Andrew’s School teammate, Balbi, who recently completed his freshman season with the University of Southern California, was also part of the 2023 Worlds team. He notched a 32nd-place finish in the 200 butterfly (2:03.61).
A butterfly specialist, Balbi owns personal bests of 24.31, 52.99, and 1:59.91 across the 50, 100, and 200 fly, respectively. His 100 and 200 performances were recorded just days ago at an age group meet in Florida. The 50 time stems from the Fort Lauderdale Pro Series in late April.
As for Silva, this will be her second senior international competition. She competed at the 2024 Short Course Worlds in December, placing 24th in the 200 fly and 34th in the 200 IM. Singapore will represent her debut at a major senior meet in a long course pool.
Silva has raced at the Junior World Championships in previous years, most recently at the 2023 Netanya edition, where she logged 14th place in the 200 fly (2:15.07), 25th in the 100 fly (1:02.22), and 31st in the 50 fly (28.69). Her current bests in long course meters are 1:02.16 in the 100 fly, 2:13.71 in the 200 fly, and 2:26.85 in the 200 IM. Her top 50 fly mark of 28.58 was recorded in May 2023.
Moya, just 14 years old, is the youngest on the squad. She trains with Saint Andrew’s Aquatics in Boca Raton, Florida, and is a pure sprint specialist. She owns two national records in short course meters, having clocked 24.95 in the 50 free and 26.53 in the 50 fly earlier this month at the Peruvian Championships in Lima.
Women’s Roster
- Alexia Sotomayor (ASU ’29)
- Yasmin Silva
- Cielo Moya
Men’s Roster
- Diego Balbi (USC ’28)
