Splashing into Excellence: The 2025 World Swimming Championships in Singapore

Premier Swim Events to Anticipate in 2025: World Championships Set for Singapore in July

The year following the Olympics will commence a new four-year cycle, with swimmers focusing on preparing to peak at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Elite athletes will take different pathways toward 2025, with some of the stars from the Paris Games choosing to gradually resume training, while others have already been competing at high levels in World Cup events, the Short Course World Championships, or within the NCAA swimming circuit.

While we cannot predict the outcomes for next year, we can outline significant dates to mark, where prestigious titles will be contested. Below is a preview of the most notable events in the swimming calendar.

1. NCAA Women’s Championships, March 19-22 — Federal Way, Wash.

The University of Virginia will pursue its fifth straight national title in women’s swimming and diving this coming March, with sisters Alex and Gretchen Walsh participating in the meet for the last time. Alex has claimed eight individual NCAA titles throughout her career, while Gretchen has six, rewriting the record books in short course yards during her tenure with the Cavaliers, alongside shattering short course meters world records at the recent Short Course World Championships in Budapest.

In addition, Olympic champion Torri Huske returns to spearhead the Stanford team, while individual Olympic medalists Katie Grimes (Virginia), Emma Weyant (Florida), and Mona McSharry (Tennessee) are anticipated to compete.

2. NCAA Men’s Championships, March 26-29 — Federal Way, Wash.

The team championship will be contested at the men’s meet, as the Cal Bears, who have been top finishers at this competition every year since 2010, will aim to reclaim their title while fending off a Texas team that has revamped under Bob Bowman’s leadership. Texas will showcase two of the meet’s standout individual talents, Olympic champion in the 200-meter back Hubert Kos, and bronze medalist Luke Hobson in the 200 free, alongside Rex Maurer, who is having a breakout season, and American relay medalist Chris Guiliano who is joining the team mid-year.

Cal responds with five-time individual champion and American-record holder Destin Lasco, sprinters Jack Alexy and Bjorn Seeliger, Olympic finalist in the 200 back Keaton Jones, as well as seasoned competitors Dare Rose and Gabriel Jett. Olympic medalists Ilya Kharun (Arizona State), Josh Liendo (Florida), and Caspar Corbeau (Indiana) will also participate, along with short course world champion and record holder Jordan Crooks (Tennessee).

3. U.S. National Championships, June 3-7 — Indianapolis

The key selection meet for the United States is set to occur in Indianapolis for the third year in a row, returning to the iconic Indiana University Natatorium after last year’s Olympic Trials showcase at nearby Lucas Oil Stadium. As is customary for U.S. non-Olympic selection meets, this will feature only prelims and finals, as USA Swimming aims to assemble a squad capable of achieving a significant medal tally at the World Championships.

In a deviation from standard procedures, this will be the final official selection meet for the U.S. until 2027, with swimmers likely to be chosen for the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships based on performances from this national meet, the World Championships, and select other competitions in 2025.

4. Canadian Swimming Trials, June 7-12 — Victoria, B.C.

The Canadian selection meet has gained significant attention largely due to Summer McIntosh, the standout female athlete of the Paris Olympics, claiming three individual championships in the 400 IM, 200 butterfly, and 200 IM. McIntosh set world records at this meet in the last two years, with new benchmarks in the 400 free and 400 IM in 2023 before again surpassing her 400 IM record last year.

5. Swimming Australia World Championship Trials, Location TBA — June 16-21

This qualifying event will provide insight into the caliber of team Australia will send to Singapore, concluding just five weeks prior to the swimming competitions commencing in Singapore. Although three-time Olympian Emma McKeon has retired, none of Australia’s other stars have suggested that they will opt out of the 2025 championship season, implying that Olympic champions Kaylee McKeown, Ariarne Titmus, Mollie O’Callaghan, Cameron McEvoy, Zac Stubblety-Cook, and Kyle Chalmers will all participate.

6. World Aquatics Championships, July 11-August 3 (Swimming: July 27-August 3) — Singapore

The most renowned competition of the year will be hosted in Southeast Asia for the first time, representing an opportunity for Olympic gold medalists from the Paris Olympics to validate their titles and set the groundwork for dominance in the new four-year cycle. We can also anticipate the emergence of fresh talents; it was at the World Championships one year following the Tokyo Games that Leon Marchand and Summer McIntosh were first introduced to a global audience, both securing their first two world titles at the 2022 global meet.

In recent cycles, the United States has excelled at the post-Olympic editions of the World Championships. In 2017, the American team secured 18 gold medals and a total of 38 medals, and the 2022 squad surpassed that with 45 podium finishes, although many top international competitors opted out of that meet.

7. European Short Course Championships, December 2-7 — Szczecin, Poland

The only short course meters event on the schedule will occur in December, and following 30 world records being shattered at the 2024 Short Course World Championships, we may witness even more records fall at the European showcase meet conducted in that format. The meet is returning to Szczecin, Poland, for the first time since 2011.