Members of Jamaica's CCCAN swim team share a photo opportunity with ASAJ president Martin Lyn (second row, third left), vice-president Georgia Sinclair (fourth left) and permanent secretary in the ministry of sport, Dean-Roy Bernard (second row, fourth right), during a press briefing at the National Aquatic Centre on Thiursday.
Sherdon Cowan
With the Central American and Caribbean Amateur Swimming Confederation (CCCAN) championships beckoning, Jamaica's swimmers and officials are buzzing about the possibilities, as they gear up for tough competition in El Salvador.
The 17-member team to be headed by coach Kafia Rapley is currently very active in preparation and will have another week or two to put the final pieces in place ahead of their August 12 departure.
During that build up period, the Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) will also be seeking to bridge the gap in $6.1 million budget to ease pressure off the parents in getting the team to the championships scheduled for August 14-18.
Though they have made some inroads, with other potential sponsors making commitments to come on board, ASAJ president Martin Lyn says they welcome those who would want to offer further assistance at this point.
“CCCAN is a parent supported event with a very big budget, we have gotten some of that money so far and we have other sponsors coming on board. But we certainly welcome if anybody else wants to come on board because that would only be good for us and the swimmers because the reality is that this is a very big championship for us,” Lyn told reporters during a press briefing at the National Aquatic Centre on Thursday.
While the administration oversees that aspect of things, Head coach Rapley is more focused on having the athletes mentally and physically prepared to showcase their prowess against the likes of Panama, Mexico, Puerto Rico, as well as Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, Barbados, and of course, the host nation, among others.
A few of the country’s standout swimmers in last year’s team captain Zaneta Alvaranga, Sabrina Lyn, who recently competed at the World Aquatic Championships and Kito Campbell, who recently broke a national record, are noticeably absentees from the team.
“Preparation has been going well, we currently meet twice per week to do team building, bonding and also training. Not having some of the more senior swimmers is beyond our control and their presence will certainly be missed, but the swimmers that will travel are expected to be competitive,” Rapley told journalists.
Following a number of superb performances at the Carifta Swimming Championships earlier this year, Jamaica's contingent will no doubt embark on a quest to make further inroads on the regional rankings.
Though admitting that matching and, by extension, surpassing last year’s 25-medal haul, will take some doing with this small contingent, she believes a number of personal best times could certainly be rewritten when the Jamaicans take to the pool at this year's five-day championship.
Jamaica also placed fifth on the point standings last year, with 418.5 points, behind Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Bahamas, in that order.
“With a smaller team it's going to be very difficult to match or surpass last year's tally, but what I am looking forward to is our relay teams because those combinations will be very competitive. I don't see why we shouldn't come out with podium finishes there. Individually, the swimmers are doing well but again, to match last year's haul will be a stretch,” Rapley shared.
That said, Rianna Scott, the lone female in the 13-14 age group, overseas-based Carolyn Levy-Powell and 15-17 swimmers Leanna Wainwright and Devaughn Robe, who both qualified for the World Aquatic Junior Championships, are expected to lead the medal charge.
“Some of these swimmers are the future of Jamaica's Aquatics, they are coming from the Carifta Games and most if not all of them competed at the Goodwill Games last year, so they have literally been through every phase of competition representing the country,” Rapley said.
“You have swimmers like Jessica Denniston, who won gold at the Carifta Games, Kai Radcliffe, who has several regional medals and Waldon McIntosh, who has won several medals at this very championship. We also have a few first-timers for CCCAN and we are going to see how they do and what they are made of. So, I'm satisfied with what I have, I'm liaising with the overseas athletes and their coaches to ensure that they are in good health and good spirits,” she ended.
Team: Kia Alert, Jessica Denniston, Nolan Barrett, Cameron Brown, Adlaine Nixon, Rianna Scott, Kai Radcliffe, Waldon McIntosh, Nathan Wright, Zack-Andre Johnson, Carolyn Levy-Powell, Leanna Wainwright, Benjamin Davis, Charles McIntosh, Devaughn Robe, Lia Forrester, Kaheem Lozer
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Adam Peaty and Duncan Scott named in Team GB swimming squad for Paris Olympics
Adam Peaty and Duncan Scott have been included in Team GB’s 33-strong swimming squad for this summer’s Olympics.
Peaty secured his spot at Paris 2024 at the British Championships earlier this month and will be gunning for a third successive gold medal in his signature men’s 100 metres breaststroke event.
He set the fastest time for 2024 in the discipline at the British trials after a turbulent past couple of years in which he has struggled with injuries and a much-publicised battle with his mental health.
“I’m thrilled to have made my third Olympic team,” Peaty said. “It’s always amazing to be part of Team GB, but with it being so close to home in Paris this summer, and us having more home fans there supporting us, it’s even more exciting.”
Scott, who became the first Briton to win four medals at a single Games at Tokyo 2020, also booked his passage by winning the men’s 200m individual medley and finishing as runner-up to Matt Richards in the men’s 100m and 200m freestyle events in London a couple of weeks ago.
Richards aims to break Scott’s record and become the first Briton to win five medals at one Games and has been chosen, as has Tom Dean although the double Olympic champion will almost certainly not defend the men’s 200m freestyle title he won in Tokyo after failing to get a top-two spot in the British trials.
Freya Colbert and Oliver Morgan are among 10 swimmers who will make their Olympic debuts, while Freya Anderson has been selected despite missing out on automatic qualification after contracting glandular fever at the start of the year.
Team GB won a record eight medals in the pool in Tokyo, surpassing their previous best of seven from the 1908 Games.
“Team GB has a proud tradition in Olympic swimming competitions, and I am delighted to welcome all 33 athletes to the team for Paris 2024,” said Team GB chef de mission Mark England.
“The strength and depth of our pool swimming team was evident to see at the recent Aquatics GB Swimming Championships, and along with the 10 swimmers making their debut for Team GB it is fantastic to welcome back seven Olympic Champions and nine Olympic medallists.
“I have no doubt the thrilling races we saw at the British Championships last week will be equally close fought.”
Alert, Barrett continue to bask in Carifta Swim Champs accomplishments; praise team effort
The 37th Carifta Swimming Championships has come and gone, but the experience of representing one's country on one of the biggest stages in the region has left an indelible mark on the younger participants, in particular, to the point where they continue to revel in their accomplishments.
Jamaica's Kia Alert and Noland Barrett are two such swimmers, who though not new to national representation, basked in the fact that they rose to the occasion and displayed their immense potential with standout performances that assisted the country to its 45-medal tally, including 18 gold, 12 silver and 15 bronze.
The 27-member Jamaican team also placed fourth on the points standing with combined total of 559 points, behind host The Bahamas (1,096.50 points), who secured an unprecedented sixth-straight Carifta Swimming Championship victory. Cayman Islands (660 points), Trinidad and Tobago (639 points), and Barbados (486.50 points) were the other top five teams.
Alert, who competed in the girls’ 11-12 division, relished her second outing at the championship, as she earned most points for Jamaica. She copped gold in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, the 50m and 100m freestyle, as well as in the 50m butterfly, and those were complemented by silver in the 200m breaststroke and 200m individual medley (IM).
“I really felt like I was prepared enough to do really well, and I was excited just to put the hours of hard work on display, so I was really happy and proud hearing the National anthem after I won, knowing that all the hard work paid off,” Alert said.
“I also felt good about my other performances because I know I tried my hardest even on the third day when I had the 200m IM, 100m breast and 50m free, I tried my hardest and succeeded so I am really grateful that I came out healthy,” she added.
While delighted with her personal haul, Alert praised her teammates, Christanya Shirley and others, who in a consistent show of spirit and talent, also contributed significantly to Jamaica’s medal haul. That togetherness and pride she said is what swimmers count on to keep going, especially when things don’t go as expected in the pool.
“Team Jamaica’s performances deserve tremendous commendation. After a slow start, each member of the team gave their best and everyone contributed to our total points tally. For each day of the competitions there were several personal best performances seen, so even if swimmers did not medal, they did well enough to achieve PBs and that’s enough to be proud of,” Alert reasoned.
Meanwhile, the overseas-based Barrett, who had a credible outing at CCCAN last year, was making his debut at the Carifta Swimming Championships and contested finals in most of his events in the boys’ 13-14 category. He won gold in the 100m, 200m and the 400m freestyle events.
“Going into the Carifta Games I was excited to not only see my teammates I haven't seen in a while, but more importantly, to perform very well. I had a lot of fun being there and also dropping a lot of times and securing personal best, and while hearing the national anthem, I was proud that I was representing my country,” Barrett shared.
“So, I was really satisfied with my performances, I am more excited about the 400m free where I ended up dropping 11 seconds and I was really proud of how much I was able to accomplish on my first year and knowing that I have next year to do even better,” he noted.
Barrett contested the 13-14 age group alongside, Matthew Kennedy, Kai Radcliffe and others, who also produced credible performances.
Kennedy mined bronze in the 100m and 200m freestyle to go with his other top eight finishes, while Radcliffe, known for his breaststroke prowess, secured gold in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, and silver in the 200m breaststroke.
Radcliffe also flirted with the 50m breaststroke national age group record of 30.94s held by Kito Campbell, with his 30.98s-clocking.
Like Alert, Barrett, 14, pointed out that the team spirit was based on pride, passion and performance.
“I am proud of the team's performance, and I believe every athlete should be celebrated for their effort. All the coaches who prepared the swimmers for qualification and the championship should be proud of how they performed. We all stood strong, performed strong and gave out best to achieve what we did for Jamaica,” Barrett ended.
Swim coach Farmer eyes improvements for Barbados to make bigger splash at regional meet
While celebrating their fairly successful outing at the recently concluded Carifta Swimming Championships, Barbados Head coach Dave Farmer believes there is still much more to be done to improve their aquatic prowess.
Farmer, who admitted that the 23-member team which travelled to the Bahamas was undersized, lauded their efforts, as they bagged 37 medals, inclusive of 15 gold, 15 silver and seven bronze. Though their tally was two medals better than it was last year, they finished one spot lower in fifth position behind powerhouses The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica.
“I thought we did a very good job. The team really performed well. We exceeded our medal count from previous years, we had 37 medals in total which is a good achievement for us, so the team performed very well, and everyone gave of their best,” Farmer told journalists moments after the team arrived home on Thursday.
“They did quite well last year, they just had two more medals this year, but the team has been working hard. Some of our swimmers have been training for this event since September, October last year. Obviously, they had competitions in between but their main goal was to perform well at Carifta.
“This means we could have a bright future but obviously it means a lot of our age group swimmers need to step up to the plate because there is a lot of work that needs to be done. We had a 23-member squad, but a full team is in excess of 36, so we are still lacking in some categories, and we need to get those gaps filled,” he added.
Barbados was led by the impressive Heidi Stoute, who broke four CARIFTA records in the girls’ 13-14 division on her way to amassing six individual gold medals, along with three relay golds and one silver. Her performance earned her the Federation international de natation (FINA) High Point Award.
Stoute said she was pleased with her accomplishments at the Championships.
“I’m very happy with my performance to bring home these medals for Barbados, not just for myself. I would like to thank everybody who is involved in getting us there…I really do appreciate it and I’m sure the whole team does. We did very well and I’m very happy with what we brought home. The competition was good, it definitely pushed me, but it was fun, and I definitely enjoyed it," Stoute shared.
The outstanding swimmer's next assignment will be the CCCAN, scheduled for June in Mexico.
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