After much celebration for having won the right to host 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Rio is getting ready to face its first big challenge. From November 29 to December 5, the wonderful city will host Rio 2009 IPC Swimming World Championships 25m, to be held at the Julio Delamare Aquatic Park. Over 264 athletes from 31 countries, including the United States, Canada, South Africa, Spain, Great Britain and Australia are making their way to participate in the championships organized by Instituto Superar. Thirty swimmers are enrolled in the Brazilian squad, including Daniel Dias who won 2009 Laureus Sports Person of the Year with a Disability Award , and Andre Brasil who brought home five medals from Beijing Paralympics.

This is the first time that a short course event (25m) is staged by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and it will give swimmers a good opportunity to set new world records. And, expectations are growing. "My marks in official pools (50m) are much better than the short course results existing today. These are non-official results that still need to be sanctioned, and this is why this will be a great opportunity to break new records. I have a good lead because my leg stroke and turning are good, making me real fast in short pools", Daniel Dias explained.