American swimmers Katie Kubiak, Leanne Smith and Evan Wilkerson broke world records over the three-day Para Pan Pacific Championships in Walnut, California.
Kubiak, a 23-year-old from Cedarburg, Wisconsin, swam 37.21 seconds in the S5 50m butterfly to break the record by nearly one second on Friday, a day when she broke three American records, too.
“I came in today knowing the schedule was going to be super tough, and I’ve been physically and mentally preparing for that for a few months,” Kubiak said, according to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. “I was not expecting the world record today, and to break it was honestly incredible. It was a testament to all the effort that has gone into this season. So much has changed, and I’m just so happy to see it paying off.”
In 2025, Kubiak broke four world records in the S4 classification at the U.S. Championships. Then she made her World Championships debut, winning seven medals, including four individual golds, with world records in three events.
Also Friday, Smith, a five-time Paralympic medalist, broke her own world record in the S3 100m freestyle, clocking 1:26.17.
“Breaking the world record was a little bit of a surprise,” she said, according to the USOPC. “I’ve been building toward it over the past couple of meets, and this was my first time swimming outside, so the environment was definitely a challenge. Being able to work through that and still break my own world record was a huge relief.”
Then on the final day of the meet on Sunday, Wilkerson lowered the S11 100m backstroke world record in the prelims (1:04.84) and finals (1:02.62) pending classification review.
Wilkerson, ninth in the S12 100m back at the Paris Games, said he was reclassified as an S11 about one month ago, according to the USOPC.
Starting with this meet, U.S. Para swimmers were eligible to receive payouts for world records or podium finishes at designated competitions through Paralympic swimmer Ali Truwit’s Stronger Than You Think Performance Incentive Fund.
Each world record netted $10,000, while top results received $3,472 (first place), $2,083 (second place) and $1,389 (third place). Truwit expects the exact amounts to change over time depending on how many people earn the money.
Truwit competed at Para Pan Pacs, earning two runner-up finishes and breaking her American record in the S10 100m back.
