From Swimming Canada:
Mary Jibb will not soon forget her world championships debut.
Competing in her first event of the meet on Day 2 of the 2025 Toyota World Para Swimming Championships, the 18-year-old from Muskoka, Ont., captured Canada’s first gold medal of the week thanks to a record performance in the women’s 200-metre individual medley SM9.
“I definitely feel like it hasn’t sunken in yet. A year ago I would never have dreamed that I would be standing on top of the world podium,” said Jibb, who placed seventh in the event in her first Paralympic Games appearance last summer.
To say Jibb was sensational in her worlds debut would be a major understatement.
She started the day by winning the morning preliminaries in 2:35.51, more than two seconds faster than the previous Americas and national marks set by Canadian great Stephanie Dixon back at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics.
In the evening final, Jibb lowered those standards again, this time clocking 2:32.90, a time that would have won gold at Paris 2024.
Fourth after the opening butterfly and second at the 100-m and 150-m marks, the Canadian teenager dominated the final leg to prevail by a comfortable margin over Anastasiya Dmytriv of Spain (2:35.36), the bronze medallist from Paris. Hungarian star Zsófia Konkoly, the reigning Paralympic champion and defending two-time world titlist, was third in 2:36.09.
“We’ve been working really hard on my breaststroke. And then freestyle, I just had to bring it home,” Jibb said. “In the last 25, I saw in my peripherals that there was nobody, so I thought, ‘I got it.’
“I guess so, yes,” laughed the newly-crowned champ when asked if she should now be considered one of the best S9 swimmers in the world after defeating such competition. “It feels pretty surreal.”
Last March, Jibb moved from Ontario to the west coast to train with the Pacific Sea Wolves coached by Jy Lawrence in Surrey, B.C.
“We moved halfway across the country six months ago to train with PSW. I have to thank my mom and my sister for moving out there with me, to support me and support my dreams.”
Lawrence had a front-row seat on Monday to witness her protégée’s exploits as a member of the Canadian coaching staff in Singapore.
“The drive that she came to training with, and how she executed exactly what was asked of her… I don’t know if proud necessarily encompasses how I feel about an athlete who’s able to do that,” Lawrence said. “The trust that she had in the process, I’m beyond proud.”
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Congratulations! What a personal accomplishment.
You are a wonderful inspiration and role model for other young athetes.
Way to go Mary!