U.S. Swimmers Shine At World Series Stops In Northern Italy And Spain

Katie Kubiak has lit up every meet she’s entered since breaking onto the Para swimming scene less than a year and a half ago. 

She won an astounding four gold and seven total medals at her world championships debut in Singapore last fall, and in March she returned to the international circuit at the Para Swimming World Series stop in Barcelona. Leading the way for Team USA, Kubiak won three of her races and finished second in another, setting two American records in the process. 

“It was a very exciting collection of events, and to have the American record in the 50-meter backstroke was honestly a great touch on top of all of it,” Kubiak, a 28-year-old from Cedarburg, Wisconsin, said after her last race. “It was such a fun meet with all of my amazing teammates and getting to cheer them on.” 

Kubiak, who swims in the S5 classification, took gold in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 35.47, the 50-meter backstroke with an American record time of 42.71, and the 50-meter butterfly with another American record time of 38.96. She also took second in the 100-meter freestyle with an American record. 

The Para Swimming World Series gives elite Para swimmers the opportunity to compete against one another all across the world each year, and the U.S. sent a contingent of 12 athletes to compete at meets in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy, and Barcelona across two weekends in March. 

Kicking things off, Paralympian Noah Jaffe joined national team newcomer Nat Vorel at the Barcelona meet held March 19-22.Vorel, an S10 swimmer, who took silver in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 29.00. Jaffe had a handful of top-seven finishes, including fifth place and American record in the 100-meter freestyle S8 with a time of 58.09. 

Vorel then continued on to Barcelona, where she met nine more new teammates and had a fifth-place finish in the 50-meter freestyle. Vorel was a college swimmer prior to an injury sustained while rock climbing, and in recent years has become one of the top Para climbers in the world. She returned to the pool after her classification in Para climbing was left off the program for the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.  

“I’m looking forward to going fast,” Vorel told U.S. Paralympics Swimming just weeks prior to making her international debut. “It’s my favorite thing in the world when I can push and feel that speed. And I’m also just stoked to meet everyone.” 

Paralympian Lawrence Sapp, in the S14 classification, took the silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 58.60, saying afterward that he believes he can still go faster. 

He later posted on social media, “Fun weekend in Barcelona!!! First start of long course season in March. Glad I raced all my friends from other countries. I haven’t started training long course yet, but I’m giving everything I have. My results were OK, but not what I wanted. I’ll do better when long course training season starts. I’m looking forward to the next one. Next up, USA nationals 🔜!! Sliver medal 100m Fly🥈”