In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, World Para Swimming is canceling the upcoming World Series stop in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Sheffield, Great Britain, U.S. Paralympics Swimming told athletes and coaches in an email Tuesday. The Indianapolis meet is postponed, the email said.
Sao Paulo was scheduled for March 25-28 and Sheffield for April 9-12, with Indianapolis following April 16-18. Monday, U.S. Paralympics Swimming said it was “still proceeding with planning” for the Indianapolis meet.
As of Tuesday, only the final meet of the formerly seven-meet series in Berlin, Germany remains unaffected. The Feb. 27-March 1 meet in Italy was already canceled, as was the May 1-3 meet in Singapore.
Brazil’s National Paralympic Training Centre was set to host the Sao Paulo event and the Sheffield meet was set for the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre. Indianapolis, Berlin, and Sao Paulo are the only three cities that have been part of the World Series since the first edition in 2017.
The 2019 World Series saw over 1,300 swimmers from 84 countries compete. The overall results of each World Series season are calculated using a standardized World Para Swimming points system to score each race in an attempt to ensure that the overall winners will be the best performing athlete over the course of the entire series.