High School Rookie, Leary And Hall Headline World Para-Swimming Team

Swimming Australia selected 25 Dolphins for the World Para Swimming Championships to be held in Singapore 21-27 September at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

Rookie bolter Declan Budd, 17, joined an experienced team with 22 returning Paris Paralympians, including opening ceremony flag bearer Brenden Hall and gold medallists Alexa Leary, 23, and Ben Hance, 24.

Hall announced Paris would be his fifth and final Paralympic Games but the 32-year-old is not disappearing from the world stage  – not when there’s a chance of another 400m freestyle (S9) world title within his reach.

National Head Coach Paralympic Program Mel Tantrum said: “The 2025 World Championships campaign is in the first year of the runway to LA 2028 and the team that stands before us today is the blueprint.”

“From seasoned veterans and Paralympic champions like Rachael Watson and Tim Hodge to young rookie Declan (Budd), the team we have selected are capable of medal-winning performances across individual events.”
The past five days of racing at the Australian Swimming Trials in Sa Aquatic & Leisure Centre featured:
• Ben Hance setting a world record, the only one of the Para program, in his signature 100m backstroke (S14). His new world-best time of 56.35 secured his selection for Singapore in today’s heats.
• Jake Michel was in red-hot form, posting a PB in all six of his races, including a SB14 national record time of 1:03.74 in the 100m breaststroke that would have won him gold in Paris.
• Lex Leary came oh-so-close to her 100m freestyle (S9) world record on Day 4 – 0.01 second in fact – and admitted that she was saving herself for the big show, where she can let it rip on the world stage in Singapore.
• Now local boy Rowan Crothers, who moved from Queensland to South Australia, is back. Crothers posted the fastest 50m and 100m freestyle (S10) this year.
General Manager of Paralympic Program Anna Johnson said: “It’s been a great week of racing for our para swimmers.”

“Off the back of a successful Paralympic Games where every male Dolphin stood on the Paris podium, we are ambitious in our plan to become one of the top Paralympic swimming nations in the world by Brisbane 2032.

“Our qualifying standards are high, and our team will rise to these challenges. With world-class athletes like Ben Hance and Lex (Leary) in our ranks who keep breaking world records, you can expect nothing short of inspirational. I look forward to seeing what the team will achieve in Singapore.”

Triple Paralympian Grant ‘Scooter’ Patterson is the most senior member selected at 36 years of age. Patterson is joined by long-term pal and four-time Paralympian Ahmed Kelly, 33. The veteran pair are stalwarts of the green and gold and have shared many podiums, most notably consecutive men’s 150m individual medley SM3 (Tokyo-Paris).

The 2025 Australian Paralympic Swimming Team will head to Darwin for their staging camp in September before the Singapore World Para Swimming Championships begin on 21 September 2025.

By Swimming Australia & Paralympics Australia.

Photo Credit: Delly Carr & Swimming Australia

Published 14 June, 2025.