Trinidad and Tobago’s ace swimmer Dylan Carter headlines a three-member team that will represent the Twin Island Republic at the World Aquatics World Short Course (25m) Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

The six-day event, scheduled for December 10–15, promises exciting prospects for aquatics enthusiasts as it will feature morning heats and evening semi-finals and finals.

Carter will enter the championship in rich form following his fairly successful World Aquatics Swimming World Cup outing recently, where he pocketed two gold medals and one bronze during the three-leg competition.

The decorated 28-year-old, who is a many-time World Short Course medallist and Olympian, is scheduled to swim the men’s 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, and 50m butterfly.

He will be joined by rising sensation Nikoli Blackman, who is currently in his sophomore year at the University of Tennessee. Blackman, a talented and versatile swimmer, will only contest the men’s 200m freestyle event.

Meanwhile, Zuri Ferguson, who paraded her skills at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, is the lone female member of the team. The University of Florida freshman will be targeting at least best times in the women’s 50m, 100m, and 200m backstroke events.

Another female swimmer, Ornella Walker, who recently shattered Trinidad and Tobago’s 50m and 100m backstroke records, also qualified to make the team but opted not to take up her spot on this occasion.

Trinidad and Tobago’s ace swimmer Dylan Carter secured his second gold of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Series as he produced a breathtaking performance to land win the men’s 50-metre freestyle in Singapore on Thursday.

Carter, a three-time Olympian, won the event in a brisk 20.82 seconds and left the field in his wake as he was the only swimmer under the 21-second barrier in the final. He won ahead of Australia’s Isaac Cooper (21.01s) and Germany’s Marius Kusch (21.04s).

The 28-year-old Carter is expected to line up in the heats of the men’s 50m backstroke and 100m freestyle on Thursday’s evening session before bringing the curtains down on his campaign in the men’s 50m butterfly on Friday.

Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands delivered a standout performance in the men's 50m freestyle at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, advancing to the semifinals with the second-fastest time in the heats. Competing in Heat 10, Crooks finished second with a blistering 21.51 seconds, just 0.19 seconds behind Australian Cameron McEvoy, who clocked 21.32 seconds.

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.

In a thrilling display at the Paris La Defense Arena, the Caribbean swimmers demonstrated their athleticism in the men's 100m freestyle with outstanding performances, but mixed results.

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.

Dylan Carter is anticipating a good year ahead as he can swim free knowing that he no longer has to worry about meeting the 2024 Olympic qualification standards.

On March 2, the 27-year-old Carter swam 48.28 to win the 100m freestyle race at the TYR Pro Series Meet in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which is below the Olympic qualifying standard of 48.34. In winning, he held off the challenge of Matthew Richards (48.48) and Hunter Armstrong (48.95).

The time was a new national record for the twin-island republic and made Carter the first male 100m freestyler in the world to qualify for the Olympics in the event.

 “It’s all very exciting and I am very happy with that,” he told Sportsmax.TV.

Coming off the success at the World Short Course Championships in Australia in December 2022, where he won a bronze medal the 50m freestyle, Carter took some time to rest and prepare for Olympic qualification.

“Between World Short Course in December and now, I took a couple weeks’ break and went to Tobago for New Year’s and was coming back slowly in January, building up my fitness,” he said.

“I wasn’t really sure where I would be in March but I was focusing on my speed, strength and power through January and February.”

He believes the work he did building his strength helped him achieve the personal best time and a spot at the Olympic Games.

“I think that little extra bit of strength paid off. Also, racing the weekend before at the Jalisco Cup in Mexico was at 5500 feet altitude so competing all weekend racing very hard at altitude and then coming down the next week to race 100, I was really, really good at sea level. That might have played a part in it but I am really happy.

“It is a small personal best for me which at 27 years of age you can’t complain about that in March and it sets me up really well for the rest of the year and I don’t have to worry about qualification or time.”

Trinidad & Tobago’s Dylan Carter has been named the men’s overall series winner for the 2022 FINA Swimming World Cup.

The 26-year-old Carter won an impressive nine gold medals over the three stops in the event to finish with a final score of 172.6 points.

The three legs for this year’s World Cup were Berlin from October 21-23, Toronto from October 28-30 and Indianapolis from November 3-5. The Trinidadian won gold medals in the 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly at all three stops for nine golds in total.

In the backstroke, not only did Carter win three golds, he also lowered the Trinidadian national record three times, swimming 23.15 in Berlin, 22.94 in Toronto and 22.72 in Indianapolis.

He also broke the national record in the freestyle twice with times of 20.77 in Berlin and 20.72 in Indianapolis.

Trinidad and Tobago swimmer Dylan Carter won his third gold medal at leg two of the FINA Swimming World Cup 2022 in Toronto, Canada on Sunday.

Carter won the men’s 50-metre butterfly event in 22.28 seconds at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre ahead of South African Chad Le Clos in 22.45 and Italian Thomas Ceccon in 22.60.

On Friday night, Carter also swam to gold in the men’s 50m freestyle before breaking his own national record on his way to gold in the men’s 50m backstroke a day later.

Carter now has six gold medals at the World Cup. At the first leg of the World Cup in Berlin, Germany from October 21-23, Carter won the 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke and the 50m butterfly, setting national records in the first two.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter won his third gold medal at the opening leg of the FINA Swimming World Cup in Berlin, Germany on Sunday.

Trinidad &Tobago’s Dylan Carter won the Caribbean’s first medal at the 2021 FINA Short-course Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Carter swam a national record 21.98 to win silver in the Men’s 50m butterfly behind Brazil’s Nicholas Santos, who recorded 21.93 for gold.

Italy’s Matteo Revolta was third in 22.02.

This is Carter’s second Short-course World Championships medal after winning bronze in the 50m butterfly at the 2018 championships in Hangzhou.

Carter, a 2020 Olympian, dedicated his silver medal performance to his parents.

“This one is for my parents who have been my endless support through thick and thin,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bahamian Joanna Evans contested her second final at the meet, placing seventh in the 400m Freestyle in a national record 4:01.09 seconds, three days after her eighth-place finish in the 200m Freestyle final.

The Amateur Swimming Association of Trinidad & Tobago and St. Lucia Aquatics Federation have both announced their respective teams for the FINA World Short-Course Swimming Championships to be held in Abu Dhabi from December 16-21.

Trinidad &Tobago will be represented Cherelle Thompson in the Women’s 50m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly; Dylan Carter in the Men’s 50m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly, 50m Backstroke, 100m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle while Nikoli Blackman will compete in the Men’s 400m Freestyle and 1500m Freestyle.

St. Lucia will have Jayhan Odlum-Smith in the Men’s 50m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle, Mikaili Charlemagne in the Women’s 50m Butterfly and 50m Freestyle, Naima Hazell in the Women’s 50 Breaststroke and 50m Backstroke and Terrel Monplaisir in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke and 50m Freestyle.

The youth of the CARIFTA region were treated to an excellent performance by Alex Sobers of Barbados who hit three Tokyo Olympic B times at the ISCA International Senior Cup.