The second leg of the World Para Swimming World Series featured impressive international debuts as the three-day competition wrapped up on 21 April in Indianapolis, USA.

The competition featured 198 swimmers from 17 counties competing over 30 medal events. Swimmers raced in single-class events and winners were determined by a standardised points system.

Robert Griswold was among the highlights in Indianapolis, where the USA dominated their home meet. The 21-year-old returned from his first international competition since a successful World Championships last December in Mexico City. Reigning world champion S8 swimmer Griswold captured gold in his signature event – the 100m backstroke – over the weekend, and also added a victory in the 400m freestyle.

“Feels really good to start my international season well, and being in a hard block of training right now and do a time within a second of my best is really good and bodes well for the rest of my season,” Griswold said. “I would like to break the world record in the 100 back by the end of the year, so I think … where we’re are at now, I have a good shot at it.”

Griswold’s victories were just two of the 17 individual gold medals Team USA tallied over the weekend.

Jessica Long also captured a pair of wins (women’s 200m individual medley and 400m freestyle), as she too was coming off her season debut since winning eight gold medals from Mexico City 2017.

Japan’s Takuro Yamada denied the USA a clean sweep of victories on the final day of the Indianapolis World Series. In the men’s 100m freestyle, the Japanese swimmer got the better of Mexico’s Luis Andrade.

The victory was sort of a revenge for Yamada, who lost out to Andrade in the men’s 50m freestyle the day before.

For 23-year-old Andrade, the World Series was still a successful debut, as his 50m free gold medal followed from his four bronze medals from his home World Championships.

Indianapolis also saw an impressive return of Afghan-born Mohammad Abas Karimi. Karimi made history at the 2017 World Championships by becoming the first refugee swimmer to reach the Worlds podium. On Friday (20 April), the S5 swimmer showed his intent to build off that success by claiming gold in the men’s 50m backstroke.

More information about the World Para Swimming World Series can be found at https://www.paralympic.org/swimming, and full results from Indianapolis are available at https://www.iunat.iupui.edu/content/Other-Information/LiveResults/index.htm.

The next World Series event will be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from 26-28 April.

Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy and Sheffield, Great Britain will also host events, before the World Series finale in Berlin, Germany, in June.