World Series booked in for return to Ponds Forge

Leading names on the international para-swimming circuit will head to the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield for competition across the 16-19 March next year, measuring themselves against Britain’s best just months out from the Manchester 2023 World Para Swimming World Championships.

Ponds Forge has already hosted the series on three occasions since its inception in 2017 – with the UK having accommodated the international racing opportunity each year alongside the domestic British Para-Swimming Meet.

World Para-Swimming have introduced a new format to the series in 2023 with the aim to provide more events, and thus more excitement across the nine racing fixtures across four continents. The UK will host the third leg of the World Series, following the second leg in Italy, and prior to a trip across the Atlantic for the fourth leg in the USA.

Spectacular racing was on show as the series visited Aberdeen in 2022, with British athletes phenomenal performances including Stephen Clegg closing out the meet a narrow 0.05 seconds away from his own S12 100m Butterfly world record, while British Swimming’s Emerging Para-Swimmer of 2021-22 Poppy Maskill claimed a maiden series victory in the Women’s MC 100m Butterfly at the start of her breakthrough year, and the stalwart Scott Quin danced his way to gold in the Men’s MC 100m Breaststroke. 

The return of the World Series to UK shores promises to deliver another host of exciting contests between international rivals, with new names breaking through into contention for medals and senior team selection.

Speaking about the event, British Swimming Associate Performance Director Tim Jones, said:

“The return of the World Series to Sheffield in 2023 is a key fixture on the calendar for para-swimmers and we will be looking forward to our athletes posting strong performances across the schedule, with this meet outlined in our selection policies as the sole trials event for our British team attending the World Championships in the summer - whilst with the integration of the British Para-Swimming Meet it’s a great opportunity for the burgeoning talent in our sport to compete in the very same environment as their peers.

“The Para Swimming World Series is always a very important competition for us, with direct head-to-head racing a vital part of the development of our up-and-coming athletes across various levels of the para-swimming pathway. Additionally the stimulus of racing international counterparts is fundamentally important in the preparations of our more established athletes, who will be looking to implement the processes they’ve worked hard on through the early part of the season and generate a positive momentum towards us being the best prepared team for Manchester 2023 this July.”

World Series entries for Sheffield have now opened with national entries for the British Para-Swimming Meet set to open early in the New Year.

Find more information on the Citi Para Swimming World Series inc. British Para Swimming Meet 2023 event page.