Cayman Islands

The stage was set for a showdown of aquatic prowess, with 25 nations from across the Caribbean vying for supremacy. Yet, from the outset, it was clear that the Bahamian team was on a mission — a mission to etch their names into the record books once more.

Led by the indomitable spirit of Head Coach Travano McPhee, the Bahamian contingent unleashed their full potential. With each stroke, each turn, they surged ahead, leaving their competitors trailing in their wake.

Day after day, the Bahamas increased its lead, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind of their dominance in the pool. From the precision of their starts to the power of their finishes, every swimmer embodied the essence of excellence, pushing themselves to their limits and beyond.

As the final day of competition dawned, the tension was palpable. Yet, amidst the nerves, there was an air of confidence among the Bahamian swimmers. They knew that this was their moment, their chance to make history once more.

And make history they did.

With a final surge of speed and determination, the Bahamas clinched their sixth consecutive CARIFTA Aquatics Championship title, sending shockwaves of celebration throughout the nation. Tears of joy mingled with the waters of the pool as the triumphant swimmers embraced, their hearts filled with pride for what they had accomplished.

In the medal standings, the Bahamas reigned supreme, topping the table with 34 gold, 39 silver, and 28 bronze for a total of 101 medals. Trinidad & Tobago followed with 24 gold, 15 silver, and 17 bronze for 56 total medals, securing second place. The Cayman Islands claimed the third spot with 18 gold, 13 silver, and 19 bronze, accumulating 50 total medals. Jamaica, with 18 gold, 12 silver, and 15 bronze, earned a total of 45 medals, securing the fourth position. Barbados rounded out the top five teams with 15 gold, 15 silver, and 7 bronze, totaling 47 medals.

Speaking to the Nassau Guardian in the aftermath of their historic win, Coach McPhee expressed his gratitude to his team and the Bahamian people. "This is our house, and we were able to hold it down," he declared, his voice ringing with emotion. "I'm proud to be a part of this team, and I'm very proud of everyone who contributed to this sixth straight win. We're not done yet... next year, we're going for seven straight."

And with that vow hanging in the air, the Bahamian swimmers basked in the glory of their triumph, knowing that they had not only made history but had also etched their names into the hearts of a nation. For in the waters of the Betty Kelly-Henning Swim Complex, the spirit of the Bahamas soared to new heights, a testament to the power of passion, perseverance, and the unbreakable bond of a team united in pursuit of greatness.

Barnes revealed his intentions to Sportsmax.TV on Tuesday just over 48 hours after news emerged that North American, Central American Athletics Association (NACAC) had banned the CIAA over the money owed to Caribbean athletic associations who were overcharged for room and board by the Local Organising Committee during last year's annual track and field championships.

Barnes was quick to point out that this was not the doing of the CIAA as it was the Local Organising Committee (LOC) that has refused to repay the money.

The decision prompted NACAC to impose the ban, which means that track and field athletes from the Cayman Islands will not be able to participate in sanctioned competitions including the Olympic Games.

Barnes told Sportsmax.TV that Cayman's Minister of Sports, Agriculture and Lands, Julianna O’Connor received an email from NACAC informing of the ban on Friday, July 24.  Barnes, who was copied on the email, subsequently forwarded it to the minister’s senior leadership team saying that he hoped to hear from them by today.

If he did not, he would go public with the matter.

For the Carifta Games held from April 20-22, 2019, the LOC had requested that the visiting associations pay a levy of USD$150 per athlete and official who planned to travel to the Cayman Islands for the games. The money was to offset the cost of food and accommodation.

Some countries brought along extra officials. The LOC asked them to pay the US$150 levy fee then told them to pay the full hotel rate for their accommodation for the duration of the Games.

This resulted in the affected countries collectively overpaying to the tune of nearly US$50,000, reports said.

The matter was raised at the NACAC Congress held on Sunday, April 21, and Minister O’Connor promised then that the money would have been refunded.

Just over a week after the conclusion of the Games on April 22, Minister O’Connor, in an email, instructed the LOC to repay the money. However, according to Barnes, some members of the LOC, split over a challenge to the leadership of the CIAA, voted against repaying the money, which resulted in NACAC imposing the ban 15 months later.

Barnes explained that money was not a problem.

The Government of the Cayman Islands was the title sponsor, so their sponsorship money, in addition to the money raised from the Games, means that there is more than enough money to repay the countries that the LOC overcharged, Barnes said.

Crooks' impressive swim highlighted a strong showing for Caribbean swimmers, who competed fiercely across various heats at the Paris La Defense Arena, albeit with less fortune. The Cayman Islands swimmer’s advancement is a significant achievement, making him the sole Caribbean athlete to move forward in this event.

Elsewhere in the competition, veteran swimmer Dylan Carter from Trinidad and Tobago in Heat 8, finished with a time of 22.18 seconds, not enough to advance him to the semifinals.

Meanwhile, several Caribbean swimmers made their Olympic debuts with commendable performances. Troy Nisbett of St Kitts and Nevis competed in Heat 2, finishing fifth with a time of 28.71 seconds. Dominica's Warren Adam Lawrence took to the pool in Heat 4, clocking 24.67 seconds to finish sixth.

 In Heat 5, Alex Joachim from St Vincent and the Grenadines made his debut with a time of 23.59 seconds, finishing fifth, while Aruba’s Mikel Schreuders secured third place in the same heat with a time of 22.14 seconds.

Despite their valiant efforts, the overall rankings saw Nisbett placing 69th, Lawrence 52nd, Joachim 45th, Schreuders 26th, and Carter 29th. While they did not advance to the next round, their participation and performances demonstrated the talent of Caribbean swimmers on the Olympic stage.

Led by their Jamaican star sprinter Shakur Williams UA’s men amassed 165 points to secure their 15^th title in 19 years while the women, led by Dominique Clarke were even more impressive scoring 191 points winning their 15th overall championship and third in the past four years.

Albany’s dominance was led by their short sprinters who have now won seven consecutive 60m titles at the conference level while enjoying their third sweep of the event indoors.

Following in the footsteps of 2023 champion, Travis Williams, Shakur, a junior at UA, led a sweep of 60m men’s dash winning in 6.67 over teammate Shavar Staats Jr (6.78) and Lucas Casab (6.91). The former Meadowbrook High School sprinter completed the sprint double in a UA 1-2 in the 200m. He strolled to victory in 21.35 with Staats Jr taking the silver medal in 21.58.

Vermont’s Alex Siaton claimed the bronze medal finishing third in 21.62.

UA’s men continued to showcase their quality in the 60m hurdles. Antwone Messado blew away his rivals hurdling to a time of 8.07. Left in his wake was his teammate Adrian Rippstein (8.43) and Luke Stelmach of UMass Lowell, who ran 8.43 to take the final podium spot.

It was a similar situation in the men’s high jump where Ja’Lil Reynolds cleared 2.12m to claim gold with teammate Zhi Luncheon-Lowrie’s cleareance of 2.09m securing the silver medal. Bryant’s Michael Marshall took third with his best leap of 2.00m.

Former Kingston College jumper Louis Gordon led an Albany sweep of the long jump competition. The Caymanian athlete soared out to a mark of 7.57m with teammates Marcus McFadden and Christian Quinn finishing second and third with marks of 7.31m and 7.23m, respectively.

Travis Robinson imposed his class on the shot put field. The Jamaican put 18.53m more than a metre better than his nearest rival, Maine’s Jonathan Prell (17.03m) and New Hampshire’s Caden Zalenski (16.16m). The winning mark was a personal best, school record and championship record.

Meanwhile, UA’s women were showcasing their own prowess on the track led by former Papine High School standout Dominique Clarke who led a remarkable 1-2-3-4 sweep of the women’s 60m dash. Clarke, who won the title in 7.45 in 2023, was even faster this time, taking the gold medal in 7.41. UA’s women have won the 60m dash for the seventh consecutive year.

Shenequa Vassell took the silver in a personal best 7.63 edging teammate Jazmen Newberry (7.64) and freshman Shantae Pryce (7.65).

Clarke, however, was unsuccessful in her defence of the 200m title she won in 2023. She finished second to University of Maryland, Baltimore County sprinter Caitlyn Bobb, who clocked 23.95 to Clarke’s 23.96. Newberry was third in 24.09 in the closely contested event.

UA went 1-3 in the 60m hurdles. Antoinette Galloway earned a valuable 10 points when she won in 8.25 ahead of Binhghamton’s Jenna Chan (8.52). Katelyn del Gandio took bronze in 8.59.

Albany’s Amelia Benjamin won the high jump with a clearance of 1.80m. Lucciana Robinson of Binghamton cleared 1.71m for the silver medal while UMass Lowell’s Erin Jensen was third with her best leap of 1.63m.

University of Albany’s women also claimed two of the three podium places in the long jump. That event was won by Ofe Omokeni with her leap of 5.73m. Her teammate, Rebeca Valerie Barrientos Alpha, took second place with 5.50m, a single centimetre ahead of UMass Lowell’s Rebecca Crosier (5.49m).

Leann Nicholas won the triple jump and Barrientos Alpha took second place with efforts of 12.55m and 11.88m respectively.

Albany’s Kiana Nosile was just edged out in the weight throw with her mark of 18.91m being bettered my Maine’s Cheyenne Figueroa, who threw 18.93m. Mackenzie Wilson, also of Maine took bronze with her throw of 18.09m.

Among the men, UMass Lowell finished second in the standings with 144.5 points with Binghamton third with 119.5.

Binghamton scored 134 points for second place among the women with UMass Lowell third on 114.

The 18-year-old had an excellent 2023 season competing for Jamaica College and the Cayman Islands.

He ran a personal best and Caymanian junior record 10.24 in the Class 1 Boys 100m semis at the ISSA Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships in March. He then took bronze in the final with 10.26. A week later, Reid also reached the Under-20 Boys 100m final at the 50^th Carifta Games in Nassau, running 10.63 for sixth.

Reid has a 200m personal best of 20.91 done at the Corporate Area Development Meet at the national Stadium in Kingston last year. He competed in the event at the World Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia that same year, running 21.53 for sixth in his heat.

He was also a member of the Jamaica College quartet that produced 40.97 to win the Championship of America 4x100m at the Penn Relays this year. 

In heat two, Suriname's Irvin Hoost finished fourth in 52.99s, while St Lucia's Jayhan Odlum-Smith (50.39s) finished second in heat four, but their times were not good enough to advance.

Heat five saw Bahamian Olympic debutant Lamar Taylor clock a new National Record of 48.84s, and he was also the first swimmer to go sub-50 on the night. Barbados' Jack Kirby finished third in 50.42s.

Aruban swimmer Mikel Schreuders followed Taylor’s suit in heat six, as he too stopped the clock in 48.84s, before Dylan Carter (49.35s) of Trinidad and Tobago finished eighth in heat seven.

However, the night belonged to Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands, who performed admirably to finish third in a blistering 48.01s in heat eight.

Crooks advanced to the semi-finals with the fifth fastest time overall, a mere 0.44 seconds behind the fastest qualifier, American Jack Alexy. The other Caribbean competitors ranked: Hoost (68th), Odlum-Smith (44th), Taylor and Schreuders tied for 26th, Kirby (46th), and Carter (34th).

Collymore, Persaud and Crooks failed to progress in women’s 100m freestyle

Grenada's Tilly Collymore, Guyana's Aleka Persaud and Cayman Islands’ Jillian Crooks all performed exceptionally well in the women's 100m freestyle at the Paris La Defense Arena, but like most of their male counterparts, failed to make the final cut to the semi-finals.

In heat one, Collymore finished second in 58.84s, just 0.65 seconds behind the winner. Persaud (1:01.29) placed fourth in the same heat, while Crooks (56.15s) finished seventh in heat two.

By virtue of their times, Crooks was 23rd overall, Collymore (26th), and Persaud (28th). Sweden's experienced campaigner, Sarah Sjöström, was the fastest qualifier in 52.99s.

Still, the Caribbean ladies had much to celebrate as Collymore, 16, is an Olympic debutant, while Persaud, 18, the youngest member of the Guyana team, was gracing the global multi-sport showpiece for a second time. She finished 55th in the 50m freestyle in Tokyo 2020 with a time of 27.76 seconds.

Crooks, 18, was also enjoying her second Olympic Games outing, having made her Olympic Games debut in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. She won three medals at last year’s Commonwealth Youth Games.

US Virgin Islands’ D'Amour eliminated in men’s Archery

Nicholas D'Amour of the US Virgin Islands lost 6-4 to Japanese archer Fumiya Saito in the men's individual round of 32 eliminations at the Invalides on Tuesday.

Despite a valiant attempt, D'Amour was defeated by a single point in the last set.

D'Amour demonstrated tremendous skill, leading set 2 with a score of 27-24. The Japanese and D'Amour tied sets 1 and 4, with Saito winning sets 3 and 5, defeating the USVI representative by one point in the last set, which determined the outcome. 

D'Amour, 22, made his Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020, becoming the first archer to represent the US Virgin Islands. He was eliminated in the first round in a shootout. In 2021, he finished in the top 10 on several occasions, moving him 196 places into the top five in the world rankings. He is also accredited as the 2022 Vegas Shoot silver medallist.

It all started with Vincentian Shane Cadogan winning heat 4 of the Men’s 50m Freestyle in a time of 24.71 seconds. He finished ahead of Nigeria’s Alassane Seydou Lancina (24.75) and Bangladesh’s Ariful Islam (24.81).

Trinidad’s Dylan Carter and Cayman’s Brett Fraser tied for second in heat 6 of the same event. Their times were faster than Cadogan’s, finishing in 22.46 seconds. Renzo Tjon-a-joe of Suriname was also in that heat. He finished 6th in a time of 22.56 seconds. Serbia’s Andrej Barna won the heat in 22.29 seconds.  

Meanwhile, Aleka Persaud finished second in heat 4 in the women’s equivalent. The Guyanese swam a time of 27.76 seconds. St.Vincent’s Mya de Freitas also swam in heat 4, finishing 4th in a time of 28.57 seconds. The heat was won by Papau New Guinea’s Judith Meauri in a time of 27.56 seconds. More Caribbean swimmers turned out in the following heat. St. Lucian Mikali Charlamagne (26.99) and Antigua’s Samantha Roberts (27.63) finished 2nd and 6th respectively. Cameroon’s Norah Milanesi finished 1st in a time of 26.41 seconds. Elinah Phillip from the British Virgin Islands swam well for second place in heat 6. She finished behind Ecuador’s Anicka Delgado (25.36) in a time of 25.74 seconds.

None of these competitors were able to advance to the semifinals of their event. The semifinals of the men’s and women’s 50m Freestyle will take place tomorrow.