Golden Debut for Nuhfer, Triumphant Return for Weggemann as Team USA Shines in Singapore

SINGAPORE – Team USA made a statement on the opening day of the Singapore 2025 World Para Swimming Championships, capturing three medals including two world titles at the OCBC Aquatics Centre. Grace Nuhfer (Greenwood, Indiana), Mallory Weggemann (Eagan, Minnesota) and Evan Wilkerson (Wake Forest, North Carolina) all reached the podium, kicking off the weeklong competition with historic performances. This year marks the first time the championships have been staged in Asia.

The U.S. delegation features 20 athletes — 13 women and seven men — with eight making their world championship debut. Singapore serves as an important milestone in the new Paralympic cycle, as Team USA swimmers begin their journey toward the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.

Nuhfer, competing in her world championships debut, delivered Team USA’s first medal — and first gold — of Singapore 2025 with a commanding victory in the women’s 100m butterfly S13. Clocking a time of 1:03.33, she improved on her Paralympic debut last summer, where she won silver in the same event.

 “I’m feeling over the moon,” Nuhfer gushed. “This is definitely something I’ve been putting a lot into and it’s just so fulfilling, and I’m blessed to see it pay off.”

“Having the Games in my home country, I’m just so excited for that experience. Paris was insane and this week has already been insane so I’m all eyes on LA from here on out.”

“Coming into this week, I was working a lot on grounding myself because for a lot of athletes once you get to this point, the work is done so it’s just about making sure you’re in the right mindset.”

Racing alongside Nuhfer were Paris 2024 teammates Olivia Chambers (Little Rock, Arkansas) and Gia Pergolini (Atlanta, Georgia) who picked up the fourth and eighth place finishes, respectively. 

For four-time Paralympic champion Mallory Weggemann, it was a full-circle moment as she claimed her 16th world title in an event she had been striving to return to for 15 years. 

“The 200m IM has always been my favorite event,” said Weggemann. “I last won it at a long course world championship in 2010, which is 15 years ago, but it’s so special to do so with Charlotte, my daughter, in the stands with my husband and family. To represent Team USA after all these years is such an honor.” 

The world championship appearance also marks the first time Weggemann has competed in the event the year after the Games. 

“To do that and be within a second of my time in Paris last summer, that’s absolutely wild. This is setting the stage for what I can expect in LA.”

Joining Weggemann in the 200m IM were fellow national team swimmers Julia Gaffney (Mayflower, Arkansas) and Ahalya Lettenberger (Glen Ellyn, Illinois) who just missed the podium, clocking in for the fourth and sixth best times, respectively. 

Wilkerson capped the night with a breakout swim, earning his first world championship medal with bronze in the men’s 100m backstroke S12. Wilkerson dropped nearly a second from his morning swim and personal best to secure the podium finish. 

“I’m very happy with the swim, it was a great swim, especially from this morning,” said Wilkerson. “The goal this morning was just to make finals which we did. I really dropped the hammer tonight and somehow managed to squeeze in for bronze. I’m going to take that after last year’s Games performance; this is a huge comeback moment for me. It’s a full circle moment.”

Earlier in the session, two-time Paralympic medalist Noah Jaffe (Carlsbad, California) kicked off the day for the U.S. team placing fifth in the men’s 400m freestyle S8. Eighteen-time Paralympic gold medalist Jessica Long (Baltimore, Maryland) opened her ninth career world championships with a sixth-place finish in the women’s 400m freestyle S8. First-time world championship competitor Koehn Boyd (Ramsey, Minnesota) rounded out the night with sixth in the men’s 50m freestyle S10.

Competition resumes at 9 a.m. local time (GMT+8) with preliminary heats, followed by evening finals starting at 5:30 p.m. local time. A livestream is available to view at www.youtube.com/paralympics. For more information on U.S. Paralympics Swimming, visit usparaswimming.org. 

For photo and interview requests, contact Annemarie.Blanco@usopc.org. 

Team USA Results: 
Grace Nuhfer, gold, women's 100m butterfly S13
Mallory Weggemann, gold, women's 200m IM S7
Evan Wilkerson, bronze, men's 100m backstroke S12

Other results: 
Olivia Chambers, fourth, 100m butterfly S13
Julia Gaffney, fourth, women's 200m IM S7 
Noah Jaffe, fifth, men's 400m freestyle S8 
Ahalya Lettenberger, sixth, women's 200m IM S7
Koehn Boyd, sixth, men's 50m freestyle S10
Jessica Long, sixth, women's 400m freestyle S8 
Gia Pergolini, eighth, 100m butterfly S13