Katie Kubiak, Koehn Boyd World Record Highlights Opening Night At Nationals

Katie Kubiak broke her own world record not once but twice on Friday, the opening day of the 2025 U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships.

Kubiak got off to a fast start, setting both the world record and the American record in the women’s 50-meter butterfly S4 when she posted a time of 39.66 seconds in her preliminary heat at the Idaho Central Aquatic Center in Boise, Idaho. The 22-year-old from Cedarburg, Wisconsin, then returned a few hours later and outdid herself again in the finals.

Kubiak won the event in 38.96 seconds, and in the process, she shaved almost a second off her world record. She also cruised to a victory in the women’s 50-meter backstroke S4 in 42.14 seconds. It was another dominant performance for the swimmer, who burst onto the scene six months ago by winning five national titles at her first national championships. 

Several records were broken in the pool on the first day of the national championships, which are expected to feature 64 of the top American athletes. Races will continue through Sunday. 

Koehn Boyd, a relative newcomer to Para swimming from Ramsey, Minnesota, began his day in Boise by setting the world record in the men’s 400-meter individual medley SM10 class with a time of 4:45.83 during prelims. American Paralympic gold medalist Ian Silverman held the previous world record of 4:53.24 since 2014.

Boyd followed up his record-breaking performance by earning a pair of national titles in the men’s 400-meter freestyle S10 and the men’s 100-meter butterfly S10. He had no trouble winning both races by wide margins. He posted a time of 4:08:99 in the 400-meter freestyle — 40 seconds faster than the next closest swimmer. He then cruised to a victory in the 100-meter butterfly at 57.85 seconds to become the only S10 to finish the race in under 1 minute. 

Gray Rutledge (Frankfort, Kentucky), meanwhile, shattered her own American record in the women’s 50-meter backstroke S2, posting a time of 1:07.78, four seconds faster than her previous mark. 

Competition will resume on Saturday, June 21, with preliminary sessions starting at 9 a.m. MT and finals starting at 5:30 p.m. MT. All races are mixed class, and results based on the World Para Swimming points system to create an equitable field of play among the different classes.

All preliminary and final sessions will be livestreamed on LiveBarn.com. LiveBarn is a subscription-based service, and we have secured a discount code for event participants to share with friends and family who cannot attend in-person. We have a limited number of codes, and they are first come, first serve so if you plan to utilize the livestream services, please set up an account with LiveBarn. Instructions Note: the promo code will be active on Monday, June 16.  

For full timed results, click here.

For interview and photo requests, please contact Olivia.Truby@usoc.org.

Day 1 Results 

Women’s 400m Freestyle S6-S14

1. Summer Schmit – S9

2. Piper Sadowski – S14

3. Cara Pennington – S9

Men’s 400m Freestyle S6-S14

1. Koehn Boyd – S10

2. Noah Jaffe – S8

3. Trevor Bell – S9

Women’s 50m Backstroke S1-S5

1. Katie Kubiak – S4

2. Gray Rutledge – S2

3. Eden Schroeder – S1

Women’s 100m Butterfly S8-S14

1. Taylor Winnett – S10

2. Elizabeth Smith – S9

3. Cali Prochaska – S9

Men’s 100m Butterfly S8-S14

1. Koehn Boyd – S10

2. Evan Wilkerson – S12

3. Nathan Ferguson – S9

Women’s 50m Butterfly S2-S7

1. Katie Kubiak – S4

2. Mia Clark – S7

3. Ellie Marks – S6

Men’s 50m Butterfly S2-S7

1. Adin Williams – S7

2. Jackson Ingram – S6

3. Ryan Parsons – S6

34 pt. Mixed 4 X 100m Freestyle Relay

1. Jackson Ingram, Emily Reid, Drennan Shall, Mei White

2. Nathan Ferguson, Cara Pennington, Quinton Thrailkill, Savannah Zirbel 

3. Adin Williams, Daniella Berger, Makai Heussen, Cali Prochaska