Barbados earned three gold medals and two silvers on the opening day of the XXXVIII Carifta Aquatic Championships at the National Aquatic Centre in Couva, Trinidad & Tobago.
The Bajan swimmers produced outstanding career-best performances on the first night of finals.
Kaija Eastmond starred with two podium-topping finishes in the 11-12 girls. The Pirates swimmer won the 11-12 50m backstroke in a remarkable 31.14 seconds, more than a second ahead of Jamaica’s Kai Lawson (32.34). In the 100m butterfly, Eastmond turned on the jets once again, to win in 1:07.37, more than three seconds faster than her preliminary time.
Heidi Stoute added the third gold medal, in the 15-17 girls’ 800m freestyle. She finished in 9:18.93, 14 seconds ahead of Grenada’s Tilly Collymore. Stoute teamed up with Jaiya Simmons, Toria Alleyne, and Ayoka Martin to finish second in the 15-17 girls’ 400m freestyle relay. They swam 3:58.85, narrowly behind Jamaica’s 3:58.38 for gold.
Joshua Ross contributed a fifth medal, silver in the 15-17 boys’ 200m breaststroke. He ended in 2:23.44, behind Dominic Hilton of the Cayman Islands. Theo Narain touched the wall in 32.46 seconds for bronze in the 11-12 boys’ 50m backstroke.
After the opening day, Barbados are fifth on the points table with 107 points. Defending champions The Bahamas top the table with 235.50 points. Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Cayman Islands occupy the other places in the top five. (TF)
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