12th World Down Syndrome Swimming Championships

The 12th World Down Syndrome Swimming Championships took place in Albufeira, Portugal, bringing together 24 countries and 172 swimmers for an exciting week of world-class competition.

Hosted by the Portuguese Swimming Federation (FPN), the championships were professionally organized throughout and conducted fully in accordance with World Aquatics rules.

The standard of swimming was exceptionally high, with nail-biting finals, thrilling relay races and outstanding individual performances. Swimmers made their mark in both the T21 and Mosaic categories, with numerous World Records broken in individual and relay events.

Individual World Records

A total of 4 World Records were broken in the T21 category, with outstanding performances from:

• 🇿🇦 Minke Janse van Rensburg (South Africa) – 100m Freestyle and 100m Individual Medley
• 🇬🇧 Amalia Freeland (Great Britain) – 200m and 400m Individual Medley

An impressive 17 World Records were broken in the Mosaic category, achieved by:

• 🇯🇵 Yuto Mio (Japan) – 50m, 100m and 200m Freestyle; 50m and 100m Butterfly; 100m and 200m Individual Medley
• 🇵🇱 Jagoda Litner (Poland) – 100m Freestyle; 50m, 100m and 200m Breaststroke; 100m Butterfly; 100m and 200m Individual Medley
• 🇬🇧 Ellen Stephenson (Great Britain) – 50m and 200m Backstroke
• 🇹🇷 Ada Zehra Anlatici (Turkey) – 50m Freestyle

Exciting Relay Racing – 6 World Records

The relay events provided some of the most exciting moments of the championships, with 6 Relay World Records being achieved.

The record-breaking relay performances were:

• 🇬🇧 Great Britain – 50m and 100m Freestyle Relay; 50m Medley Relay
• 🇵🇹 Portugal – 100m Medley Relay
• 🇲🇽 Mexico – 200m Freestyle Relay
• NA-B – 50m Mixed Medley Relay

Celebrating Outstanding Achievements

These championships once again demonstrated the incredible talent, determination and competitive spirit of swimmers with Down syndrome from around the world.

Congratulations to all the swimmers, family, friends, coaches, swimming officials and local organizing committee and FPN (Portuguese Swimming Organization)  who contributed to making the 12th World Down Syndrome Swimming Championships such a memorable and successful event.

Albufeira 2026 – a championship to remember!

RESULTS
View the Event Notices & Results – Portugal 2026 Page