In a year filled with uncertainty and doubt a seemingly unshakeable constant has been the improvement in the quality of Team Haiti’s swimming. On Sunday July 25 another milestone was achieved through the performance of Emilie Grand’Pierre.
She would perform on swimming’s biggest stage in the 100 metre breaststroke. That would be a first for Team Haiti at this the highest level. And she approached the race as was one expected from a swimmer from the French speaking nation with fearless determination and great pride. Swimming in Heat 1 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre it was a close battle Jayla Pina of Cape Verde 34.18, Darya Semyonova of Turkmenistan 34.22 and Grand’Pierre 34.22 for the early honours. After a great turn Emilie changed gears. That was the beginning of the end for her rivals and the movement towards a famous Olympic heat win for Team Haiti. Her greater speed endurance allowed her to pull away decisively with the fastest last 50 of 40.49, more than a second better than the field. That enabled her to take the victory in 1:14.82 , massive new personal best and national record. That crushed her old national standard of 1:17.04 set at the 2019 PAN AMERICAN Games in Lima Peru. Semyonova was second in 1:16.37 and Pina third in 1:16.96
COMPARISON OF NATIONAL RECORD SWIMS
100 metre breaststroke
Olympics 2020
PAN AM Games
First 50
34.33
35.82
Second 50
40.49
41.22
Total Time
1:14.82
1:17.04
Emilie Grand’Pierre.Photo courtesy of Team Haiti
Draftingthecaribbean got the opportunity to speak to Emilie for her analysis of her Olympic feat
“It’s an honor just to wear the Haitian flag and to do on the biggest stage in swimming is still so surreal. I think I am still riding the wave of excitement from that race. But really, I came here wanting to stay calm and focus on enjoying this unique experience—it’s been such a great time and the energy is so high and overwhelming. When I stepped behind the blocks, I just wanted to do what I practiced. I’ve been training hard back in Atlanta, Georgia with my club coach Tommy Jackson, so I just wanted to trust my training. I’m really happy with my swim and excited to keep swimming fast for the meets to come”.
Team Haiti
from left to right
Coach Stacy Blitsch, Davidson Vincent and Emilie Grand’Pierre.Photo courtesy of Team Haiti
It cannot not be over emphasized about the ever improving quality of Haitian swimming. Emilie’s swim is a major leap forward for a programme increasing in strength and depth representing a nation and a region very proud of their efforts.
When Alex Sobers took to the pool on July 25 all his efforts were concentrated on putting in a performance that would make his country Barbados and by extension the region proud. Cognizant of his legacy and powered by great level of national pride Sobers again broke new ground with a new personal best and national record in the 200 metre freestyle.
Alex Sobers.Photo courtesy of the Barbados Olympic Committee
Before coming to the Asian continent Sobers boasted a national mark of 1:48.35. The time would not survive. Competing in heat 2 Sobers pushed himself to sixth in the heat and 29th overall in a new national record of 1:48.09.
COMPARISON OF NATIONAL RECORD SWIMS
First 50
25.90
26.14
Second 50
26.96
27.59
Third 50
27.57
27.51
Fourth 50
27.66
27.11
Total Time
1:48.09
1:48.35
What the time alone does not tell you is the impact on all time Olympic Caribbean performances. Prior to Tokyo the best performance from Barbados was almost 21 years ago when another regional aquatic icon Damian Alleyne touched the pads in 1:52.75. Sobers has made a massive time improvement upon that mark. But wait that’s not all. Alex now stands tall among the very best performers from the Caribbean regardless of language. Alex is now the second fastest performer of all time from the region in this event.
Games
Name
Country
Time
2012
Brett Fraser
Cayman Islands
1:47.01
2021
Alex Sobers
Barbados
1:48.09
2012
Shaune Fraser
Cayman Islands
1:48.53
2021
Mikel Schreuders
Aruba
1:49.43
2008
George Bovell III
Trinidad and Tobago
1:49.48
Alex Sobers
Barbados has much to be proud of in the efforts of Alex Sobers at these Games. His spirit in taking on the world’s best at their best has propelled him to raise the bar for his nation and leave a widening impressive aquatic footprint not just in the region but in the world.
The opening day of competition at the Tokyo Olympics saw the nations of Barbados, US Virgin Islands and The Bahamas in the pool through their representatives Alex Sobers, Adriel Sanes and Izaak Bastian respectively.
The region’s standard bearer in the event since 2016 Sobers swam in heat 2 of the 400 metre freestyle at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre. He went out well and was faster than his personal best splits up to the 300 metre mark. He pushed through to the end and placed 7th in his heat in 3:59.14. That placed him 34th overall.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Sobers has continued to compete in an event few in the CARIFTA region have even attempted to qualify in. He betters his time and standing from 2016 as well. In the Rio Games he had finished 44th in 3:59.97.Also to his credit he has has two events this time to race compared to one. So he has has performed better at the biggest stage of his career and has diversified his swimming portfolio.
HISTORIC SPRINT BY SANES
In his Olympic debut Adriel had two breaststroke races on his slate. His schedule saw the shorter 100 up first.Swimming in heat 2 he took out the race purposefully splitting at 28.73. That 50 marker was better than his PB split of 28.84.He would fall just outside of his personal standard and national record of 1:02.43. He placed third in the heat and and 42nd overall.
TALE OF THE TAPE
That sprint by Sanes has improved the Virgin Islands standing at the Olympics.The best time in the event prior to Tokyo was 1:11.68 by Kristian Singleton from the 1988 Games which he improved upon by a great margin. He also had the best result for the event as Singleton also had that mark placing 55th. This sets up Adriel for a good swim in his preferred 200 metre event.
BASTIAN’S BLAST THE BEST EVER BY THE ENGLISH SPEAKING CARIBBEAN AT THE OLYMPICS
At the 2016 Rio Olympics The Bahamas sent not only their best breaststroker but also the best in the English speaking CAribbean to the Games Dustin Tynes. In Brazil he put down a marker of 1:03.71 which again was CARIFTA region English speaking best. In 2021 The Bahamas again sent their nation’s best and the new all time King of the 100 metre breaststroke for the English speaking Caribbean to defend the national and regional pride. Again the 242 was not disapppointed . With splits of 28.86 and 33.01 he put up 1:01.87 for eighth in his heat and 40th overall.
TALE OF THE TAPE
This has been a season to remember for Izaak from school records in the yards pool for Florida State University to individual invitations to the NCAA Division I Championships to lowering all three breaststroke records at his National Championships he has been utilizing all his swimming opportunities and the Olympics would also be on his to do list .In his Olympic debut Bastian has better the best time ever done by a Bahamian at the Olympics. He has also eclipsed the best Bahamian placing at the Games. This as Tynes had placed 44th in Brazil. The 20 year old can take heart from his historic performance to tackle the longer 200 metre breaststroke event with no fear and the confidence gained from his first swim.
The pandemic hit all the swimmers across the region hard. But it is in times in adversity that the mettle of a champion is shown .
One such swimmer Adriel Sanes rose to the the challenge and then changed the game. Before the UANA Olympic Qualifier in May no swimmer from the Caribbean had bettered the 1996 200 metre breaststroke mark of Cuban great Mario González of 2:15.11. Sanes flew past that to set himself as the region’s all time number one with a time 2:12.39.Later this month he will go on to make history for himself as he will contest the event in his Olympic debut.
Sanes, who has a degree in Mechanical Engineering will be swimming for Auburn University this September had to make adjustments to how he trained and competed to achieve his dream. He spoke to Draftingthecaribbean and spoke about his journey and his ambitions in the Japanese capital
“It’s truly a great honor to be named to represent the Virgin Islands at the 2020 (2021) Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. It’s a goal I’ve worked towards my whole life and I’m ecstatic that I will get to achieve it. When the pandemic first hit, it was difficult to train since I didn’t have any access to any pools. I did my best to stay fit by running, biking, and doing dryland workouts, but with swimming, we need the water to help us keep in shape. Sure we can run, bike, do cross-fit, but we ultimately need to feel of the water to stay in shape. When pools started opening back up, I went right away so I can start progressing to the level I was at pre-pandemic as quickly and safely as I can. I joined the Colorado Stars that’s led by head coach Todd Schmitz (coach to US Olympic gold medallist and former World Record holder Missy Franklin) and that was the breakthrough that made me get the results I achieved at the UANA meet. The training was different and what I needed to be achieve the FINA B cut I did in the 200 breaststroke. The UANA meet was incredible. It was amazing to be able to swim at a Caribbean like meet with people I’ve been racing for years and I was confident it was going to be a fantastic meet. The first day I dropped 0.8 seconds in my 50 breaststroke so I knew if I kept riding that wave I’ll be going to the Olympics. Although I didn’t make the FINA B cut in the 100 breaststroke, I still dropped time and knew my 200 breaststroke was going to be great. I missed the FINA B cut by two tenths of a second, but with the wave I was riding, I knew I needed to time trial it and ultimately got under the FINA B cut by almost 2 seconds. I was surprised with the time I did in the time trial as that means I dropped 4 seconds from my best time coming into the UANA meet which is a lot of for someone at this level, but I couldn’t be more happy my hard work paid off. So the preparation since being named to the V.I. Olympic team, it’s been tough as my training has been working me hard, but it’s what I need if I want to qualify for semi-finals for the 200 breaststroke at the Olympics”.
Adriel Sanes celebrating achieving a Tokyo Olympic B cut and becoming the fastest of all time from the Caribbean in the 200 metre breaststroke. Photo courtesy of Erica Espinosa
Sanes has raised his hand to be the regional standard bearer in the 200 metre breaststroke and promises to give an even better showing in Tokyo in the four lap breaststroke event.
Recently The Bahamas celebrated 48 years of Independence and they have a lot to be be proud of. One of the reasons for their national pride includes their aquatic prowess . One of the swimmers building on their strong swimming legacy is Lamar Taylor.
Taylor headed into the 2021 Bahamas Nationals in great form. He had a record breaking freshman year with Henderson State and swam at his first Long course meet , the UANA Olympic qualifier with barrier breaking swims in the 50 freestyle at 22.95 and the 100 metre backstroke 57.87. The question was there any more in the tank to go any faster. What Taylor produced in Nassau was more game changing swims for the 242 in the sprint events and putting the region and the world on notice as to what relays teams from the nation will be capable of.
The national mark in the 100 freestyle stood to another formidable sprinter in the person of Jared Fitzgerald. Jared set that time at the 2019 PAN AM Games in Lima Peru with a swim of 50.81. The record would not survive the first contact as during the heats of the 100 metre freestyle for the 15-17 age group Taylor lowered it to 50.77 with a split time of 24.28. That crushed his old personal best of 51.99 for the 2019 World Junior championships in Budapest. At that global competition he was the fastest from the CARIFTA region and the second fastest from the CCCCAN region. In the final he continued to realize his great potential with another senior national record swim. He took out the first 50 metres even faster in 24.07 and put in a second lap of 26.45 to win by over two seconds in 50.52.
TAYLOR’S SPEED PROGRESSION
100 metre freestyle
2021 Final
2021 heats
2019 World Jrs
First 50 metres
24.07
24.28
24.94
Second 50 metres
26.45
26.49
27.05
Final Time
50.52
50.77
51.99
Lamar Taylor at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Budapest Hungary. Photo courtesy of Drew Bastian
SIGNIFICANCE OF SWIM
The record time by Taylor takes Bahamian swimming to a new level and nearer to the sub 50 mark. Taylor is just outside the World Championships B standard of 50.48.That standard plays double duty for the World Short Course Championships to be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from December 15-20 this year and the World Aquatic championships in Fukuoka Japan from May 13-29,2022. He is now has a faster time than the existing 15-17 CARIFTA record held by Olympian Dylan Carter set in Jamaican in 2013.He also has a standard faster than the CCCAN record of 51.00 by another Olympian and regional swimming icon Shaune Fraser set in the Dominican Republic in 2005. He is also under the automatic standard for the PAN American Junior championships of 50.55. It also makes The Bahamas team one of the most exciting from the region for the next Olympic cycle. In the 400 metre freestyle relay an estimated time of the fastest four swimmers currently has Team Bahamas at 3:25.74
Lamar Taylor
50.52
Jared Fitzgerald
50.81
Kohen Kerr
52.19
Shawn Neely
52.22
Estimated total time
3:25.74
The current national record is 3:28.22 set at the 2019 PAN AM Games and that could be easily beaten . At the 2018 Central American Games Bronze in the relay was won in 3:22.83 and sixth place at the 2018 Commonwealth Games turning in a time of 3:17.27 .A focus on the relays for the next three years could see The Bahamas turning quite a few heads internationally.
The 400 metre medley relay team is also quite promising. An estimated time of 3:43.57 puts them well under the national mark of 3:49.83 set in 2016.
Davante Carey
57.60
Izaak Bastian
1:00.87
N’nhyn Fernander
54.58
Lamar Taylor
50.52
Estimated total time
3:43.57
In 2018 in Colombia it took 3:40.67 to win the Central American and Caribbean Bronze and sixth place at the Commonwealth Games touched in 3:41.08. What is so exciting about the speed shown by Lamar is that is highlights that international success is within touching distance. Also the cadre of swimmers available to The Bahamas has the swimmers improving and stepping up to meet the challenges of faster global standards.
He would also show his impressive speed in the 50 metre freestyle . After threatening the 23 seconds mark in the heats Taylor again blew past that standards in the final touching in a new PB of 22.85. He powered his way to win by over 2 seconds in the final. Again he was under the PAN AM Jrs automatic qualifying time of 23.02. Again he is faster than the CCCAN record of 23.32 set by Jacinto Ayala of the Dominican Republic in front of a home crowd in 2005.The time also betters the CARIFTA record of 23.18 set by countryman Izaak Bastian at CARIFTA 2018.The swim is also faster than the World Championships B standard of 22.96.
Taylor also now has the fourth fastest performance of all time in Bahamian history. The swift swim would also have won him the Bronze at this year’s European Junior Swimming championships
Name
Time
Age
Year
Elvis Burrows
22.39
20
2009
Allan Murray
22.75
24
1996
Elvis Burrows
22.76
26
2015
Lamar Taylor
22.85
18
2021
Taylor spoke to draftingthecaribbean about his preparation for Nationals
Training before Nationals was really tough. I was in the gym about three times a week for about two hours each time.I went to the gym trying to build up strength but burn some of the muscle off so I am still slim and not have that much bulk .It is a balance to build the strength but not have bulk that I don’t need.I have muscle that I can use and compete at a high level where I won’t get sore and tire easily. couple weeks before I started to cut down on the gym started to two then one time for the week. I was really trying to work on being explosive off the blocks, off the turns and working on my underwaters. It was hard and really took a toll on my body”
“My expectation working for Nationals was to get the Olympic B cut for the Olympics unfortunately I was just off but it is all good. I am still very happy and impressed with the times that I swam going 55 in my 100 butterfly. Especially since I don’t usually train butterfly I just started to pick it up right before Nationals. Going a 22.85 and 22.95 and breaking 51 for the 100 and going 50.7 and 50 .5. To swim those times consistently means when I go to those big meets I just need that extra push to drop some pretty impressive times”.
His medal tally was impressive at the National championships which ran from June 24 to 27 at the Betty Kelly-Kenning Aquatic Centre
Event
Finals
Placing
50 metre backstroke
27.30
Gold
100 metre butterfly
55.80 PB,PAN AM Jr B
Silver
200 metre freestyle relay
1:38.35 Lead split 22.95
Gold
50 metre butterfly
25.14 PB
Gold
100 metre backstroke
58.32 PAN AM Jr B
Gold
100 metre freestyle
50.52 PB, PAN AM Jr A, NR
Gold
200 metre medley relay
1:50.15
Gold
50 metre freestyle
22.85 PB, PAN AM Jr A
Gold
200 metre backstroke
2:19.96 PB
Gold
With the speed shown by Lamar at these Championships the aquatic legacy of The Bahamas will only be enhanced in coming years.
On Sunday June 24 at the San Juan Natatorium in Puerto Rico Haitian swimming took another significant step forward in their progression to being one of the powerhouses of Caribbean swimming. This as one of their “elder” statesmen Alexandre Grand’Pierre set a championship record in the 15-17 100 metre breaststroke.
In the morning heats Grand’Pierre confirmed his number one seeding status with a swim of 1:04.95 (split time 30.00).That was the best time by almost two seconds. In the final he pushed the pace from the first 50 metres. He recorded the only sub 30 seconds split of 29.99. With a lead of more than a second and his strength in the 200 metre event the field was always going to be chasing at this point. He then uncorked the fastest closing 50 metres of 33.73. With the eyes on the clock the final time read out 1:03.72. The CCCAN record of 1:03.85 set almost 30 years ago in 1993 by Cuban breaststroke Mario González in front of a home crowd had finally been bettered. Silver went to Jamaican Kito Campbell in a new senior national record of 1:06.68 and the Bronze to Ryan Tirado of Puerto Rico in 1:07.15.
Mario Gonzalez at the 1996 Olympics. Photo courtesy of the Cuban Olympic Committee
For Team Haiti this was their first Championship record in 33 editions of the meet. González, the former record holder had quite a year in 1993 .At the Central American and Caribbean Games he set Games records en route in the 100 and 200 metre races, and winning Gold and Bronze at the World University Games in the 200 and 100 metre races. His shining moment would be at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta in the USA. There he would be the best swimmer from the Caribbean with a then region best time of 2:15.11 to place second in the B final of the 200 metre breaststroke. The talented Alexandre hails from Atlanta so the connection and his hard work made the record performance almost destined.
There would be more podium places at the meet . In the 200 metre breaststroke he had a close battle with with Ryan Tirado of Puerto Rico .He took the Silver in a time of 2:23.42 to Tirado’s 2:23.24. In the 50 metre race he took another Silver equalling his national record of 29.09. It took a special swim from Jamaican Kito Campbell to deny him the Gold in a Jamaican senior record time of 28.55.
CCCAN IMPROVEMENT
2019
2021
Event
Time
Place
Time
Place
50 metre breaststroke
31.89
18th
29.09
Silver NR
100 metre breaststroke
1:07.82
5th
1:03.72
GOLD CR
200 metre breaststroke
2:25.86
4th
2:23.42
Silver NR
Alexandre spoke to draftingthecaribbean during the competition spoke about his win and the upward movement of Team Haiti. He said he would need to work on power and explosiveness to gain even more speed.To improve in the 200 breaststroke he said he need to work more on race strategy, getting his mindset right and endurance to lower his national record in the 200 metre breaststroke. He paid tribute to the Haitian Coach Stacey Blitsh and his club coach Tommy Jackson of the City of Atlanta Dolphins for his results. Alexandre spoke of the great energy in the Team Haiti camp and the results in Puerto Rico show that they are serious swimming nation and the record is a big step to being seen as such.The forward looking youngster also had his eyes on the future and competing at meets such as PAN AM Jrs and the World Championships . The need to get faster and not only be good in the Caribbean but globally was one of the motivating factors pushing him to strive for excellence.
In 2018 Team Haiti had won only one medal at CCCAN , Gold courtesy of Naomy Grand’Pierre in the 18 and over 50 metre breaststroke. Look at the team now with 11medals and a CCCAN record
Other Haitian medallists
Name
Event
Age group
Time
Place
Christian Jerome
50 metre butterfly
11-12
28.43
Gold
Davidson Vincent
50 metre butterfly
18 and over
24.74
Gold
Christian Jerome
200 metre freestyle
11-12
2:11.77
Silver
Christian Jerome
100 metre freestyle
11-12
59.66
Bronze
Christian Jerome
50 metre freestyle
11-12
27.52
Bronze
Christian Jerome
200 metre butterfly
11-12
2:24.69
Silver
Christian Jerome
100 metre butterfly
11-12
1:03.68
Silver
Davidson Vincent
100 metre butterfly
18 and over
55.20
Gold
The ever improving Team Haiti at CCCAN 2021 .Photo courtesy of Team Haiti swimming
WIth the medal performances and the quality of the times produced in Puerto Rico the future of swimming in Haiti looks extremely bright.
While the Jamaican age group swimmers were in action at the CCCAN Championships in Puerto Rico , senior squad members Kelsie Campbell and Keanan Dols were in action in the Bahamas and California respectively.
Senior national Team members Kelsie Campbell and Keanan Dols. Photo courtesy of FIU swimming and Tom Peribonio
Campbell , who represents Florida International University has been having one of the best seasons of her career. She headed to the Bahamas Nationals from June 24 to June 27 to record more markers before her season taper meet.In the 100 metre butterfly she dipped under the 1:03 second barrier twice .She recorded swims of 1:02.66 in the heats and the final 1:02.52 (split time 29.26). That was the fastest time by of the ladies at the of the Championships.
The 100 metre freestyle series saw the talented Campbell make it three personal bests in her last three swims . At the Michael Lohberg Invitational she clocked 57.80. In Nassau she put up numbers of 57.37 and then 57.25. That final swim accounted for the fastest time for the women.
100 metre freestyle
Bahamas Final
Bahamas Heats
Coral Springs Final
First 50
27.12
27.77
27.64
Second 50
30.13
29.60
30.16
Total Time
57.25
57.37
57.80
Kelsie Campbell .Photo courtesy of FIU Swimming
That time now ranks Kelsie as the second fastest active Jamaican woman swimmer in the event. When the top four ladies personal best times are combined it would destroy the current national record of 3:53.58. That national record set at the 2003 PAN AM Games is now on notice and should be lowered at the next Major Games or sooner. All the ladies listed below Atkinson, Campbell , Lyn and MacDonald are fantastic relay swimmers and would give you even better splits when on a team together.
Alia Atkinson.Photo courtesy of SPEEDO
Alia Atkinson
55.35 NR
Kelsie Campbell
57.25
Sabrina Lyn
57.89
Emily MacDonald
57.95
Total time
3:48.44
In the 50 metre freestyle she put down a time of of 26.61 to be the third fastest woman at the meet . The top spots were earned by Cherelle Thompson , national record of Trinidad and Tobago 26.07 and Venezuela’s top active sprinter Jeserick Pinto 26.14.
Campbell had also contested the heats of the 50 metre butterfly recording her best time in four years of 28.74. she gave DraftingtheCaribbean an analysis of her Bahamas Nationals performance.
“I am absolutely delighted with my performances from Bahamian Nationals. I faced some adversity throughout the week, being the only athlete from my team and without a coach. But I didn’t let that get in the way of my goals and the process for the meet. I was really surprised with my 100 free. I didn’t expect to go that fast in prelims. I just stuck with the process that me and coach discussed, and it turns out I am way closer to my goals than I thought. I was also really happy with my 50 free. Although I didn’t go a best time, I was proud because I took the corrections and advice of my coach from the prelims and I executed in the final to drop time. I think that’s all you can ask for as an athlete. To continue learning and growing, and getting better. I am in a taper phase now and plan to peak next weekend at Florida sectionals in Gainesville. I am really excited to see what I can do rested. I think I’m going to make some serious waves!”
Keanan prepares to race in Mission Viejo. Photo courtesy of Tom Peribonio
Olympic bound Keanan Dols had his last meet before heading to the Asian continent at the 2021 Dolfin Fran Crippen Pro Swim Meet of Champions in Mission Viejo California. He contested the 200 metre butterfly, 200 metre individual medley and the 400 metre individual medley. In the 200 metre butterfly the Gator Swim club athlete placed fourth in a time of 2:03.72 (split time 58.96). The race was won by Mexican Hector Ruvalcaba Cruz in a new national record of 1:56.48. In the 200 metre individual medley he was second in the B final with a time of 2:06.40 (split time 59.20). the race was won by Kyle Brill in a time of 2:06.25. In the longer medley he swam to a time of 4:38.38 in the preliminaries.
Keanan powering his way through the 200 butterfly. Photo courtesy of Tom Peribonio
He spoke to draftingtheCaribbean after the meet about his stage of preparation for the Olympics
“I was very happy with the performance from the Mission Viejo Swim Meet of Champions. My 200 IM and 200 Butterfly were the fastest I’ve ever been not shaved or rested. It shows me that I’m in a great spot leading up to the games this summer. The meet was my final racing opportunity of the summer and it was a great confidence boost to see some good results”.
The teammates from the 2016 World Short Course Championships in Windsor Canada will be important factors in Jamaican mixed relays in the years to come for the next Olympic cycle. The potency of the team has been increased with the emergence of breaststroking talent Kito Campbell that now forces the selectors hand to have more relays at major Championships.
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