The 2022 Commonwealth Games could be historic for St Vincent and the Grenadines if things goes as planned for their speedster and national record holder in the 50 metre freestyle Shane Cadogan.
Shane has used every opportunity when donning the national colours to lower his time and raise the standard of swimming for his nation. He started his record run at the World Championships in Hungary when he broke Alex Joachim’s national mark of 24.60 with a swim of 24.57. Then it was off to Barbados to compete at the CCCAN Championships. There he took more chunks off his time . The heats saw him setting a new national mark of 24.37. In the final when he touched the timing pads the national record stood at 24.26.
His development in the sport is clear as when he contested the event at the 2014 Games in Glasgow he registered a time of 28.41.
Jordan Augier
Photo courtesy of tampaspartans.com
With a sub 23 seconds clocking in the near future he will be seeking to join the elite sprinters of the Eastern Caribbean . The list is headed by Saint Lucian Olympian Jordan Augier (Rio 2016)
Kyra Rabess of Team Cayman Islands has turned a memorable season into the best one so far of her young career by earning her first senior national team callup to the Commonwealth Games.
Kyra with Caribbean Games Silver .Photo courtesy of the Cayman Islands Olympic Committee
This season she turned in a historic final CARIFTA performance taking Gold in the 200 2:07.93, 400 4:29.54, 800 9:09.18 and open water 5k events. She followed that up by taking the Silver in the 800 metre freestyle at the first ever Caribbean Games with a swim of 9:11.92. A fine season was again made sweeter with Cayman copping the Gold in the 4 x 100 metre freestyle. The team of James Allison 52.92, Corey Fredrick-Westerborg 54.12 ,Kyra 59.84 and Alison Jackson 59.57 turned back all challengers to punch the clock in a Games record 3:46.45.
Record swim. Photo courtesy of Stingray Cayman
With the hard work put in Kyra warmed up for Birmingham with the Summer finale back home in Cayman where she again brought out the broom for another sweep of the freestyle events in the 25 metre pool.The most significant swim was the lowering of 800 metre senior national record of Kaitlyn Elphinstone. The record of 8:58.16 was set by Kaitlyn in a Gold medal winning performance at the 2003 Island Games in Guernsey. She led a Cayman Islands one two as Olympian Heather Roffey won the Silver in 9:00.54. The new record now stands at 8:51.56.
Tale of the tape
Kyra gave her thoughts on record swim shortly after her swim “I think my performance was good as I felt great in the water. I was expecting to go a personal best because in warm up I was feeling strong and holding lots of water which is a good sign. At first when I finished couldn’t really see my time but once i saw what it was I was surprised on what I had gone. I was hoping to get the record but I wasn’t expecting to beat it by that much”.
In her sweep she also lowered her own 400 metre freestyle mark of 4:19.75 with a swim of 4:19.72. The other wins were in the 100 free 57.64 and 50 metre freestyle.
Now at the Games her debut is made more meaningful as her mother Marlene West ,a legend in squash for Jamaica and Cayman Islands is also there as a competitor.
Mackenzie Headley has proven to be a major revelation for Team Jamaica with her performances this season. She has made a significant impact for Jamaica at the CARIFTA Championships in Barbados and the Caribbean Games in Guadeloupe. Headley prepared for her first senior national assignment at the 2022 Commonwealth Games by becoming the fastest Jamaican female age group swimmer of all time in the 50 and 100 metre freestyle and 50 metre butterfly.
Natasha Moodie
Photo courtesy of mgoblue.com
At the CARIFTA Championships she set a then personal best of 26.43 in the heats. In the final she won the Bronze in 26.64. In Guadeloupe she earned the Silver in time of 27.17. Since then she has been crushing the Jamaican records. Competing for Farmington Valley YMCA Tsunami at the Connecticut Long Course Senior Championship from July 7 to 10 she took the Gold in 25.96. How good was that time? It was .01 off the 15-17 age group mark of Natasha Moodie. Natasha set the standard more than a decade ago at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She would become the fastest Jamaican age grouper at the YMCA National Championships in North Carolina from July19-23. In the heats she blazed to 25.77. That would not last the day as she took the Bronze medal in 25.62. Only the legendary Olympian Alia Atkinson has been faster with her senior national standard of 25.47 which won her Bronze at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games in Colombia.
Leah Stancil
Photo courtesy of Tulane Swimming and Diving
On the all time 15-17 rankings only another legendary Olympian Leah Martindale now Stancil with her barrier breaking 25.49 has been faster. When Leah swam to that mark she was the first CARIFTA region woman to make the Olympic 50 metre final at the Atlanta 1996 where she placed fifth.
ALL TIME 15-17 CARIFTA RANKINGS
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games it took 25.80 or faster to make the Championship final so Headley is in good stead to push for a medal race berth.
At CARIFTA Headley scorched to the 50 metre butterfly Gold in a new pb and 15-17 CARIFTA and Jamaica record of 27.79.In Guadeloupe she won the Bronze in 28.73.At the YMCA Long Course Championships she took the Silver in another 15-17 Jamaican standard of 27.68. The only other Jamaican woman who has been faster is Alia Atkinson. The senior national standard is owned by Alia at 26.54 during the heats of the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games. She would go on to win the Gold in 26.60.
Naele atop the medal podium after being awarded the Gold medal in 50 metre butterfly for 13-14 girls
Photo courtesy of Sports of Jamaica
In the all time 15-17 rankings for this race the only two are ahead of Headley. The leader is Naele Portecop who was at one point the European Junior Championships record holder.
Janelle Atkinson .Photo courtesy of Janelle Atkinson
In the 100 metre freestyle at CARIFTA Mackenzie started off the 400 metre freestyle relay in a then pb of 58.19,The team won in a new CARIFTA and Jamaica 15-17 record of 3:58.87. At the Caribbean Games she won Gold in 58.18, a new Games record.She would go on to take down the 1999 15-17 record of 57.95 of yet another regional legend Janelle Atkinson. At the Connecticut Long Course Senior Championship she went 57.89 (split 27.38) during the heats. There would be more to come at the YMCA Championships. In the heats she put up 57.45 (split 27.60). That swim made her the fastest Jamaican female age group swimmer of all time bettering the 57.54 Janelle did as a 13-14 swimmer. That time would be lowered in the final as she posted 57.37 (split 27.19) to finish fourth.
With Mackenzie in her first year of the 15-17 age group look for the records to continue to tumble as she lifts the standard of Jamaican swimming.
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