“British Swim Stars Sweep the Para Swimming World Series Awards!”

Alice Tai, Olivia Newman-Baronius, and William Ellard each secured a Para Swimming World Series title after a triumphant year in 2024.

This past year was particularly meaningful for Tai, who was named the overall women’s champion for the second time in her career, marking her first win of the award since 2019.

Competing in both the Berlin and Lignano events, Tai accrued 4184 points, narrowly surpassing fellow Brit Poppy Maskill (4017 points) and leading a British one-two finish in the women’s rankings.

The duo enjoyed a remarkable season in the pool with several gold medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games before being honored with a spot on the King’s New Year’s Honours List for 2025.

The World Series, comprising numerous competitions in various countries throughout the year, also awards the top athletes with high-support needs (classes S/SB 1-3), the best junior athletes for both genders, and the most outstanding National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the events held within each calendar year.

Great Britain also experienced additional success as Ellard affirmed his runner-up position in the overall rankings by successfully defending his World Series title in the Junior Male category.

The BBC Young Sport’s Personality nominee attained first place with 4027 points, closely followed in second by Welsh swimmer Rhys Darbey, who concluded his campaign in Paris with a second-place finish.

Olivia Newman-Baronius secured a double victory for Great Britain in the junior categories by finishing first in the junior women’s rankings.

Having made her GB debut at the Lignano World Series event back in March, Newman-Baronius earned three golds and one bronze in Italy. These medals marked the beginning of an extraordinary senior debut year and propelled the Maxwell swimmer toward overcoming Japan’s Aira Kinoshita and France’s Assya Maurin Espiau for the title. The British teenager achieved 3948 points, surpassing Kinoshita’s 3858 and Espiau’s 3729.

These outcomes assisted Great Britain in their effort to compete for the title of the top National Paralympic Committee against the defending champions Brazil.

Sadly, Brazil retained their title with a mere 34 points separating the two countries, as Brazil accumulated 16,086 points compared to Britain’s 16,052. Both nations were well ahead of third-placed Spain, which finished with a total of 15,107.

A complete list of all former winners of the Para Swimming World Series can be found here, while information regarding the 2025 Para Swimming World Series schedule can be accessed via this link.