Jamaica tally 46 medals at Caribbean Island Swimming Championships
Jamaica’s swimmers wrapped up an impressive showing at the 21st edition of the Caribbean Island Swimming Championships (CISC) after bagging 14 medals on the final day at the Betty Kelly-Kenning Aquatic Centre in The Bahamas on Saturday.
The Jamaicans ended fourth overall on the medals standing with a tally of 46 medals comprising 14 gold, 20 silver and 12 bronze, as they handsomely surpassed the 29-medal haul prediction prior to the championships.
Saturday’s final day was kicked into high gear by the promising Britney Williams, who produced a fine display to win the Girls’ 13-14 400-m freestyle in 4:37.78 minutes. She got the better of Jada Chatoor (4:40.08) of Trinidad & Tobago, and Elisabeth Timmer (4:41.88) of Aruba.
Nicholas Vale was second in the Boys’ 13-14 400m freestyle in 4:15.57 minutes, behind Suriname’s Yael Touw Ngie Tjouw, who won in 4:14.97 minutes. Jan Collazo (4:16.31) of Puerto Rico was third.
Dominic Walter earned the Jamaicans silver in the Boys’ 18 & over 400m freestyle, when he touched in at 4:07.18 minutes, behind Matthew Lowe (4:01.07) of the host nation, while Bermuda’s Tyler Mazurek (4:08.02) was third.
The second gold of the night came courtesy of Emily MacDonald, as she continued her rich vein of form in the girls’ 11-12 age group with a supreme performance in the 50m freestyle. MacDonald won in 27.64 seconds, ahead of Logan Watson-Brown (28.35s) of Bermuda, and Daielys Ortiz (28.59s) of Dominica.
English-based Kelsie Campbell was beaten into third in the Girls’ 15-17 50m freestyle in a time of 26.96 seconds. The event was won by Bermuda’s Madelyn Moore (26.72s) ahead of Amira Pilgrim (26.84s) of Trinidad and Tobago.
Olympic hopeful Justin Plaschka was second in the boys’ 18 & over 50m freestyle in 22.77 seconds, behind Renzo Tjon A Joe (22.54s) of Suriname, while Roy-Allan Burch (22.88s) of Bermuda was third.
The Boys’ 13-14 100m breaststroke reaped a bronze for Cameron Brown, who touched in at 1:10.01 minutes, behind homeboy Izaak Bastian (1:06.24) and Puerto Rico’s Daniel Chevere (1:08.01).
However, the next three events produced gold medal performances with Breanna Roman copping the first in the Girls’ 18 & over 100m breaststroke with a 1:12.41-minute clocking. She won ahead of Evita Leter (1:12.99) of Suriname, and Lisa Blackburn (1:13.60) of Bermuda.
Keanan Dols followed in the boys’ 15-17 200m backstroke in 2:03.05 minutes, ahead of Aruba’s Patrick Groters (2:08.39) and Matthew Mays (2:09.73) of the US Virgin Islands.
And Timothy Wynter rounded off the treble in the Boys’ 18 & over event in 2:08.13 minutes, with Alexander McCallum (2:16.16) of Cayman Islands and Christian Awah (2:23.98) of Trinidad and Tobago finishing second and third, respectively.
The Jamaicans secured bronze in the Girls’ 15-17 400m medley relay, after touching in at 4:35.08 minutes, behind Puerto Rico (4:29.98) and The Bahamas (4:32.69).
The boys’ 13-14 team (4:14.40) was also beaten into third by Puerto Rico (4:05.85) and The Bahamas (4:06.13). In the Boys’ 18 & over event, Jamaica was second in 3:58.77 minutes, behind The Bahamas (3:49.83).