New Delhi, Oct 1 (NationPress) Luka Ekler gifted herself an early birthday surprise by clinching the gold medal with a world record in the women’s long jump T38 during the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on a humid Wednesday. The Hungarian athlete, who is set to celebrate her 27th birthday later this month, achieved a remarkable leap of 5.91m.

Jaydin Blackwell (USA, men’s 400m T38) and Oleksandr Yarovyi (Neutral Para Athlete, men’s Shot Put F20) were among the other athletes who contributed to raising the tally of world records set during the five-day competition in New Delhi to an impressive 18.

Ekler, a two-time Paralympic Games long jump champion, had previously set the world record at 5.82m three years ago in Paris, along with a Championships mark of 5.31m in Doha in 2019. Competing against Angie Nicoll Mejia Morales and Karen Tatiana Palomque Moreno, who finished 1-2 for Colombia in the 100m on Monday, she quickly showcased her dominance.

Throughout the competition, Ekler shattered her own world record twice, recording a jump of 5.86m on her second attempt and then improving it to 5.91m on her fifth. Notably, all three of her valid jumps secured her the sixth gold medal at the world championships, including three in long jump.

Meanwhile, Jaydin Blackwell, aged 21, set a world record time of 48.00 seconds in the men’s 400m T38 final. After winning the 100m T38 with a Championships Record on Sunday, he faced no hurdles in achieving a significant victory, replicating his two-gold achievement from the Kobe 2024 World Championships and Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Oleksandr Yarovyi led a Ukrainian 1-2 finish alongside Maksym Koval in the men’s Shot Put F20 final, where he achieved a world record of 17.73m on his third attempt. The competition was fierce, with Malaysia’s Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli also challenging Ukraine with two throws exceeding 17m.

In another close contest, Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani (Iran) narrowly missed the women’s 400m T12 gold medal by mere hundredths of a second. Leading from the start, she was disheartened to finish with silver behind Anna Kulinich-Sorokina (Neutral Para Athlete).

China had the opportunity to surpass Brazil on the medal table, hinging on Liu Yiming defeating Brazil’s Jerusa Geber in the women’s 100m T11 final. Liu responded with a personal best of 12.11 seconds, but Jerusa set a new Championships Record with an 11.81 seconds performance to win gold, firmly establishing Brazil's lead.

By the end of the day, Brazil topped the medal table with 8 gold, 15 silver, and 7 bronze, while China remained in second with 7 gold, 9 silver, and 5 bronze. India held fourth place with 4 gold, 4 silver, and 1 bronze, trailing behind Poland's tally of 6-1-5.