Skip to main content
12221
Back to International Paralympic Committee homepage Go to Official website of World Para Swimming
Contrast:
High Contrast
Normal Contrast
Enlargement:
Larger Font Size
Default Font Size
Smaller Font Size
Official website of World Para Swimming
    • Home
    • News
    • Events
    • Athletes
    • Results, Rankings & Records
    • Videos
    • Classification
    • Anti Doping
    • Education
    • About
    • Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    • News
    • Blogs
    • Videos

    Ihar Boki targets World Series success

    05.06.2019

    Belarusian hopes return to winning ways at finale in Berlin

    Male swimmer in goggles in the pool Belarus' Ihar Boki lowered the men's 50m backstroke S13 world record at the World Para Swimming World Series in Berlin, Germany © • Ralf Kuckuck
    By Amp Media | For World Para Swimming
    Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker

    Belarusian swimming legend Ihar Boki is hoping to resume his winning return as the 2019 World Para Swimming World Series reaches its exciting climax in Berlin this week.

    The multiple Paralympic, world and European champion won the 400m freestyle at the penultimate World Series event in Italy earlier this month, where he also collected silvers in the 50m and 100m butterfly and in the 100m backstroke.

    The 24-year-old will be one of around 550 athletes arriving in Berlin from over 45 countries for the Internationale Deutsche Meisterschaften 2019 (IDM), the German national championships which have rounded out the World Series since 2017.

    Four intense days of competition at the iconic Schwimm- und Sprunghalle im Europasportpark (SSE) will feature ambitious young swimmers competing alongside world-class athletes all pushing for a performance boost ahead of the World Championships in London this September.

    A total of 24 world records were set at the IDM in 2018, including four by Boki, the event’s undisputed star.

    The vision impaired swimmer went on to dominate the European Championships in Dublin last summer but was made to wait until the sixth leg of the current World Series in Italy for a return to the top step of an international podium.

    In contrast, men’s 200m individual medley world champion Antoni Ponce will be aiming for a third straight World Series event win after his golds in Italy and Singapore. The Spaniard also won the men’s 100m breaststroke last time out.

    A decorated field in the women’s 100m backstroke features Rio 2016 Paralympic Games silver medallist Nuria Marques Soto of Spain and Great Britain’s bronze medallist Alice Tai, who finished first and second over the distance in Lignano.

    Another big name following the comeback trail in Berlin will be Britain’s Ellie Simmonds, who won women’s 400m gold in the fourth leg of the series in Glasgow having taken a year off to go travelling. The double Paralympic champion is now eyeing an 11th world championship gold medal in September.

    The German challenge in Berlin will be led by the experienced duo of 30-year-old Verena Schott and Elena Krawzow, 25, who both clocked world-best times last year as the SSE pool lived up to its reputation as one of the fastest in the world.

    Schott also looked strong in the women’s 200m individual medley in Italy earlier this month, finishing second behind the world and European champion Carlotta Gilli, who will be absent from the starting blocks this weekend.

    Another Paralympic champion in action is Lorenzo Perez Escalona, Cuba’s only gold medallist to date in either Olympics or Paralympics. Other countries with their sole Rio gold medallist in action are Czech Republic (Arnost Petracek), Greece (Dimosthenis Michalentzakis), Hungary (Tamas Toth), Kazakhstan (Zulfiya Gabidullina) and Norway (Sarah Louise Rung).

    The SSE crowd will also eagerly await the performances of the promising Bavarian teen Josia Topf, who set four German records at the 2018 IDM while still only 15 years old.

    At the other end of the experience scale, 69-year-old German veteran Wolfgang Unger from the Baltic coast outpost of Stralsund will again be the oldest swimmer at the championships, competing in eight events.

    All the action takes place from 6 to 9 June, with heats slated for the morning sessions and all finals raced in the evenings.

    Follow all the action online.

    Related News
    Alice Tai celebrates on final day in Lignano
    Antoni Ponce secures win in Lignano
    No relaxing weekends for Carlotta Gilli
    Ihar Boki returns in style
    • Tweet
      • print
      • send
    LATEST NEWS
    Nadezhda Fedorova suspended for anti-doping violation 05.08.2019 Nadezhda Fedorova suspended for anti-doping violation
    Nottwil 2019: USA top table as Junior Worlds conclude 05.08.2019 Nottwil 2019: USA top table as Junior Worlds conclude
    Nottwil 2019: Breathless third day 04.08.2019 Nottwil 2019: Breathless third day
    Nottwil 2019: Noah Malone makes his way 03.08.2019 Nottwil 2019: Noah Malone makes his way
    Vote for July’s Athlete of the Month 02.08.2019 Vote for July’s Athlete of the Month
    More news...following the link
    Worldwide Paralympic Partners
    Go to Atos partner page
    Go to Bridgestone partner page
    Go to OttoBock partner page
    Go to Panasonic partner page
    Go to Samsung partner page
    Go to Toyota partner page
    Go to Visa partner page
    International Partners
    Go to Allianz partner page
    Go to BP partner page
    Go to Citi partner page
    • FAQ
    • Privacy
    • Imprint
    • Jobs
    Powered by Go to Atos. Worldwide IPC partner page
    The Paralympic Games
    Summer Games
    Winter Games
    Sochi 2014
    Rio 2016
    All the results & medallist since 1960
    Games video archive
    About the IPC
    Who we are
    Anti-Doping
    Medical
    Partners
    IPC Strategic Plan 2015-2018
    IPC Handbook
    Publications and Documents
    Media Centre
    News
    Features & Interviews
    The Paralympian
    Videos
    Athlete of the Month
    Media Office
    Sports
    Summer Sports
    Winter Sports
    Biographies
    NPCS
    Africa
    America
    Asia
    Europe
    Oceania
    Go to International Paralympic Committee homepage
    Official Website of the Paralympic Movement • IPC
    Homepage
    Paralympic Games
    The IPC
    Results, Ranking & Records
    Media Centre
    Videos
    Sports
    International Paralympic Committee (IPC)
    Adenauerallee 212-214, 53113 Bonn, Germany
    Telephone: +49-228-2097-200 • Fax: +49-228-2097-209 • E-mail: [email protected]
    16:02:56