It is no secret that the experience of high-altitude training and the lessons learnt while doing so in the Jamaica-China Exchange Programme was a significant turning point in the lives of a number of Jamaica’s young swimmers.

Whether it was technique adjustment, strength and conditioning, endurance or just speed work, the swimmers grasped at least one component of the rigorous training programme — which was conducted at world-class venues with state-of-the-art facilities — that left an indelible mark.

Though most of the 16 swimmers that took part in programme in 2018 and 2019 have since been relegated to mere spectators, a small band — Zaneta Alvaranga, Kyle Sinclair, Zachary Jackson-Blaine, Kito Campbell, Devaughn Robe, Kaheem Lozer, and Karci Gibson — have taken their budding careers to new heights, as they continue to build on the knowledge gained.

In fact, the moment you get them near a pool, their love and passion for the sport in every detail surfaces. All have produced standout performances at numerous local, regional and some international meets since their visit to the East Asian country.

However, only Alvaranga, Jackson-Blaine, Robe, Lozer, and Campbell have been making the rounds in more recent times.

They were among the country’s representatives at the Carifta Swimming Championships earlier this year and were named on a team to the June 2-5 PanAm Aquatic Championship in Trinidad and Tobago. All should also be in the running for spots to the July 9-13 CCCAN in Barbados.

But Alvaranga and Campbell have gone one step further in securing qualifying times that placed them on the list to more prestigious events such as the June 29 to July 3 Caribbean Games in Guadeloupe, Commonwealth Games, scheduled for July 29 to August 4 in Birmingham, England, and more importantly, the June 18-25 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Campbell, who rose to prominence last year and was awarded a FINA Scholarship, recalled his experience being a part of the exchange programme and the benefits derived from the outing.

“I enjoyed the experience; it was my first time travelling outside the Americas and I had a lot of fun with my teammates and also experiencing the culture. The strength and conditioning as well as the endurance work stuck with me because since then I got stronger mentally and physically which resulted in a boost in my endurance,” Campbell told the Jamiaca Observer.

“The volume of training I had to endure in China made me realise how much more work I was capable of doing and when I returned to Jamaica, swimming 10x metre sets didn’t seem so bad because I knew what it was like to do 10×400 metre swims. So that kind of jolted me a bit,” he added.

Last year, Campbell lowered the senior men’s 50m breaststroke record from 28.55 to a brisk 28.36 seconds and the 100m breaststroke from 1:05.00 to 1:04.62, both at the Puerto Rico International Swim Open.

The 18-year-old, who is currently seeking to improve his craft at Azura Aquatic in Florida as part of his FINA Scholarship — which enables him to get background work, such as massage therapy, training, strength conditioning, nutrition and sports psychology counselling — is eagerly looking forward to this summer’s assignments.

“I’m excited for this summer. The World Championships and Commonwealth Games are the two biggest events I’ve been selected for so far and it has always been a dream of mine to compete at events that include some of the world’s best swimmers, so I’m ready to see how fast I can go,” said Campbell, who turns 19 next month.

“So, I am grateful for the opportunity, I’ve been progressing a lot, but when it comes to swimming I’m hard to please because I always want more…to swim better and faster. So I’m still working on being satisfied,” the Calabar sixth former noted.

For Alvaranga, a slight technique adjustment from the exchange programme remains a vital part of her swims, as she continues to improve her times.

The 17-year-old, who is touted as one of those expected to take up the mantle left by retired five-time Olympian Alia Atkinson, has lowered her 200m individual medley (IM) time from 2:35.44 to 2:34.36, her 50m backstroke to 30.55 seconds, while her 50m freestyle best stands at 26.34.

“The experience was very awesome, I enjoyed both being in the pool and also experiencing another culture. The training was very different from what I was accustomed to at that point, but it pushed me and assisted with a few technique adjustments which are still working for me up to this day,” said Alvaranga, who was a member of the World Short Course Championship team.

“Especially when my coach reminds me about them. I learnt more about rolling the shoulders and the difference open hand and closed hands make leaving no space between your fingers when pulling. So it was valuable because my times did improve over time,” she explained.

Looking ahead, Alvaranga, who will forego the PanAm and World Championships to focus on exams, has set another Short Course World Championship appearance as her next target.

“I’m honoured to be named to the Commonwealth Games team, this is a very high-level competition which promises to assist in continued improvement and is a step before the Olympic Games. So I’m excited and I’m training really hard to ensure my best showing when I get to England.

“The World Championships was supposed to be before exams but the change of date has resulted in a clash and so I unfortunately won’t be able to attend that event, but I am hoping to make it back to the Short Course World Championships and so I will be working towards that,” she told the Observer.

Her father and coach, Rory Alvaranga, who also coaches Campbell, Lozer and Robe, praised the exchange programme which was initially expected to be a three-year project, but was halted after the second year as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Interestingly, the Kaizen Swim Club head coach admits that he still utilises training sets taught by the Chinese coach, who had visited Jamaica to assess the swimmers level of improvement following their return from China in year one.

“The Chinese sets as the swimmers come to know, is used heavily during our based training period as it builds a big aerobic capacity. I used it with the children last year while we were preparing for the Jamaica Inn Foundation ‘Swim for the Sanctuary’ event and the result was there to see,” the coach said.

“So there were a lot of take aways from that Jamaica/China programme and I really believe as a coach who is always open to learning, it can bring more to Jamaican swimming with continuity,” he added in reference to the programme which took swimmers and coaches to China for two months each year.