The stage is set in Sheffield for the third stop of the Citi Para Swimming World Series Inc. British Para Swimming Meet, as many of the world’s top para-swimming athletes take to the pool at Ponds Forge for four days of high quality racing.
The competition runs from 16th-19th April, and will have representation from 36 nations amongst 311 athletes across the event.
Dozens of Paralympic and world medallists are in action, including British multi-Paralympic champions Maisie Summers-Newton, Bethany Firth and Jessica-Jane Applegate, while the competition also doubles up as the flagship domestic para-swimming event, with the future stars of British Para-Swimming taking to the blocks.
Following the previous two legs of the World Series in Italy and Australia, which saw a plethora of world records set, the British edition begins with both the Men’s and Women’s MC 100m Freestyle events on the Thursday morning, with the latter seeing Firth and Applegate seeded first and second on time, while Tully Kearney and Ellie Challis also open their programmes.
Fast forward to Sunday and the Men's and Women's MC 100m Butterfly rounds off proceedings for the meet, with world-record holder Stephen Clegg aiming for another big swim to bring the curtain down on the competition.
Each event will feature a National Meet Final alongside a World Series Final, with the heats running concurrently.
The event is a key landmark for the athletes, both British and further afield, and will be the last chance for international competition on British soil before the Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester get underway in the summer. From a British Para-Swimming perspective, it is the key selection meet for those World Championships.
Races will be conducted following the multi-classification format in which athletes’ times are converted to standardises World Para Swimming points against their classification, and as a result serves up a number of potentially intriguing battles for the top step on the podium across the event programme.
Every session will be available to view with our Deep End Live coverage, with Paul Noble on commentary duties. Five-time Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds will step into the co-commentary seat for Friday's finals and across the weekend, while recently-retired Commonwealth medallist James Hollis takes the co-commentary microphone on Thursday.
Tickets for the event are still on sale, and can be purchased here.
Live streaming of the event is available here.