EMILY MacDONALD LOWERS OLYMPIAN CLAUDIA POLL’S 100 FREESTYLE MEET STANDARD TO RECORD REGIONAL GOLDEN DOUBLE (CARIFTA AND CCCAN TITLES)

Day Four of the CCCAN Swimming championships saw Team Jamaica adding Four more medals to their tally One Gold , One Silver and Two Silver to have Eighteen medals Six Gold ,Four Silver and Eight Bronze medals.

Getting the Gold for the land of wood and water was Emily MacDonald in the girls 13-14 100 metre freestyle. She bounced back from illness on Day Three to win the freestyle title.

13-14 100 metre freestyle medal podium from left to right Watson-Brown Bermuda, MacDonald and Libreros Bolivar Colombia Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

In the Championship final she recorded the only sub 28 seconds split at the halfway mark and then pulled away from the field to record a new personal best and CCCAN meet record of 57.95. It was also the fastest 100 metre freestyle time recorded by a girl at the Championship.

Claudia Poll Photo courtesy of panamericanworld

That lowered the the more than three decades old standard of 58.34 byCosta Rican Olympic Gold medallist Claudia Poll (1996,2000 and 2004). MacDonald also is closing in on the national age group record of 57.54 held by Olympian Janelle Atkinson (2000,2004). It was Poll who held off Atkinson to win the Bronze in the 400 metre freestyle at the 2000 Sydney Games . That fourth place position at the Olympics is the joint highest placing at the Games along with Alia Atkinson’s fourth place at the 2012 London Games.

 

Winning the Silver was Bermuda’s Logan Watson-Brown in 58.82 and the Bronze to Colombia’s  Manuela Libreros Bolivar 1:01.38.

13-14 100 metre freestyle medallists at CARIFTA 2018 in Kingston from left to right Watson-Brown Bermuda Silver ,MacDonald Gold, Alvaranga Bronze Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

 

It also  marked the regional Golden Double as she captured the same title at the CARIFTA Games in her hometown of Kingston in April . It marked the second time she is completing the double after doing so in the 11-12 age group in 2016

Regional record for the 100 metre freestyle

Date	Meet	Medal	Time
March 2016	CARIFTA	Gold	1:02.02 split 29.40
July 2016	CISC	Gold	1:00.26 split 29.18
April 2017	CARIFTA	Silver	59.28 split 28.33
July 2017	CCCAN	Gold	58.83 split 27.89
April 2018	CARIFTA	Gold	57.99 split 28.17
July 2018	CCCAN	Gold	57.95 split 27.79

Emily spoke to draftingthecaribbean about her performance after the race

“Going the 100 I was a bit nervous at first. The meet has  not been great so far .In my 200 metre freestyle I got a cramp in my leg and ended up doing a bad time as I added 5 seconds to my personal best and I did not swim the Championship final of the 50 metre butterfly because of that injury and the 100 metre butterfly was not a good race overall.so going into this race I was very nervous as I did not know how I was going to perform because I had not done well so far but I was just going to try my best. That was my mindset heading into the final.I told myself I prepared for this meet and I have trained so hard for this and it does not make sense not swim my heart out. Going into the heats  said I am going to just try and hopefully come in the top 8 fand hopefully seed first for the final. That is what I did and ended up doing a 58.70 .Going into the final I was going up again Logan Watson-Brown from Bermuda who I know is a great swimmer and I was even more nervous.I knew I wanted to get a Gold medal but was still not sure because of how I was performing. Before I stepped on the blocks I knew I had done all that I can to get this far and I know that I have done all I could possibly do to achieve a best time in this race so I was going to do what my coach told me to do which was best time.As I swam the race I remembered doing the splits in training  and swimming the first 50 in a particular time and pushing hard on the last 25 metres into the wall which I did and recorded a personal best which I am very happy about and I got the Gold medal that I wanted”.

15-17 50 metre breaststroke medal podium from left to right Brown,Cheong and Russell Photo courtesy of CCCAN

In the Boys 15-17 50 metre breaststroke Cameron Brown ended a decade old medal drought for Team Jamaica when he secured the Silver in a new personal best of 30.23. He tied Brandon Cheong for the medal while the Gold was won by The Bahamas Tyler Russell in 30.16. The last time Jamaica got a medal in the 15-17 age group in this event was in 2007 in El Salvador when age group star Brad Hamilton won Silver in 30.59.

Cameron gave his thoughts to draftingthecaribbean about the swim

“I knew it was going to be straight line line heading to the wall.I pushed to the very last second.I was suprised to see a new PB of 30.23 when I looked at the scoreboard”.

11-12 100 metre freestyle medallists from left to right Vickles Silver medallist,Crooks Gold medallist and Cogle Bronze medallist Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

11-12 dynamo Morgan Cogle secured  more precious metal at the Championship .She lowered her 100 metre freestyle from 1:03.11 to 1:02.59 to secure Bronze.The title went to Jillian Crooks of the Cayman Islands in a time of 1:01.72 and the Silver to Gabrielle Vickles of Trinidad and Tobago in 1:02.33.

11-12 200 IM medallists from left to right Crooks, Anthony and Cogle Photo courtesy of CCCAN

In the 200 metre individual medley she ended a more than decade old drought when she won Bronze in 2:37.44.That medal winning swim puts her within sight of the age group record of 2:36.26 set by Annabella Lyn in 2012. Gold was won by the another 11-12 standout Zoe Anthony of Trinidad and Tobago in 2:32.91 and Silver to Crooks in 2:36.70.

 

Bronze was won by the 15-17 800 metre freestyle relay team of Annabella Lyn ,Gabrianna Banks, Bryanna Renuart and Naomi Eaton who stopped the clock in 9:07.22. Gold went to Aruba in 8:48.55 and the Silver to Honduras in 8:59.65.

The personal best tally moved from 28 to 47 at the end of Day Four

Name	Event	Personal Best	Previous Best
Morgan Cogle	Girls 11-12 200 IM	2:39.42	2:41.26
Morgan Cogle	Girls 11-12 200 IM	2:37.44	2:39.42
Joshua Mair	Boys 11-12 200 IM	2:37.13	2:41.26
Jaedon Lynch	Boys 11-12 200 IM	2:39.06	2:40.93
Sabrina Lyn	Girls 13-14 200 IM	2:37.06	2:44.98
Sabrina Lyn	Girls 13-14 200 IM	2:35.25	2:37.06
Nathaniel Thomas	Boys 13-14 200 IM	2:29.56	2:29.83
Joshua Mair	Boys 11-12 50 metre breaststroke	36.52	37.23
Joshua Mair	Boys 11-12 50 metre breaststroke	36.14	36.52
Jaedon Lynch	Boys 11-12 50 metre breaststroke	36.23	36.45
Sean-Douglas Gooden	Boys 15-17 50 metre breaststroke	31.35	31.43
Cameron Brown	Boys 15-17 50 metre breaststroke	30.23	30.64
Morgan Cogle	Girls 11-12 100 metre freestyle	1:03.10	1:03.11
Morgan Cogle	Girls 11-12 100 metre freestyle	1:02.59	1:03.10
Adrian Balfour	Boys 11-12 100 metre freestyle	1:02.42	1:03.28
Emily MacDonald	Girls 13-14 100 metre freestyle	57.95	57.99
Nathaniel Thomas	Boys 13-14 100 metre freestyle	56.12	56.95
Daniel Mair	Boys 11-12 100 metre freestyle	1:02.60	1:06.15
Jaedon Lynch	Boys 11-12 200 metre butterfly	2:46.50	2:51.11
Jordane Payne	Boys 15-17 200 metre butterfly	2:17.58	2:18.43

 

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GIRLS GOLD RUSH SUNDAY MORGAN COGLE WINS 11-12 200 FREE AND ANCHORS RELAY IN NATIONAL RECORD TIME,SABRINA LYN TAKES BUTTERFLY SPRINT DOUBLE AND BRYANNA RENUART TAKES REGIONAL GOLDEN DOUBLE WITH 400 IM WIN

It was the young ladies of Team Jamaica that provided the Gold medals on Day 3 of the 2018 CCCAN Swimming championships on  Sunday July 1. Team Jamaica won Four Gold medals along with One Silver and Two Bronze medals to have a Day Three total of 14 medals Five Gold Three Silver and Six Bronze medals.

MAGNIFICENT MORGAN

Girls 11-12 200 metre freestyle medallists Anthony Silver medallist Trinidad and Tobago, Cogle Gold medallist and Crooks Cayman Islands Bronze medallist Photo courtesy of CCCAN

Leading the way was 11-12 standout Morgan Cogle who started the proceedings in the 200 metre freestyle. She eased in to the finals taking some four seconds off her personal best to be seeded third with a PB of 2:19.47. In the Championship final it was close  until the first 50 metres then Morgan and Trinidad and Tobago age group star Zoe Anthony separated themselves from the field .At the 100 it was Zoe with a slight edge 1:04.58 to Cogle’s 1:04.76. She increased that lead at the 150 metre mark 1:39.76 to 1:40.27. Then came an awesome battle on the last 50 metre Morgan came roaring back with a final 50 of   33.89 to Anthony’s 35.01 to win in a new PB and age group record of 2:14.16 to 2:14.77 for Anthony which was also  a PB. The Bronze went to the Cayman Islands standout Jillian Crooks in 2:16.95. Both Anthony and Crooks are the reigning CARIFTA Silver and Bronze medallists with times of 2:17.64 and 2:19.09 recorded in Kingston earlier this year.

Cogle looking at her time after the heats of the 200 metre freestyle Photo courtesy of CCCAN

Morgan lowered the age group mark of 2:15.29 set by teammate Emily MacDonald at the 2016 Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships (CISC) in the Bahamas and become the first Gold medallist for Jamaica in the event  in over a decade

	Emily 2016	Morgan 2018
First 50	30.48	30.46
Second 50	34.01	34.30
Third 50	35.66	35.51
Fourth 50	35.14	33.89
	2:15.29	2:14.16

Girls 400 metre freestyle relay medallists from left to right Silver medallists Trinidad and Tobago ,gold medallists Jamaica, Bronze medallists Barbados Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

 

Her record breaking exploits would continue in the 400 metre freestyle relay as she anchored the team of  Safiya Officer ,Isabella Sierra ,Ireland Hunter  to the Gold in a total time of 4:13.74. The Silver went to Trinidad and Tobago in 4:17.32 and the Bronze to Barbados in 4:25.20.

The old record  of 4:18.42 belonged to the 2012 CISC team of Angara Sinclair,Tiara Myrie,Annabella Lyn and Annastazia Chin that competed in Aruba

Jamaica 2012	Splits	Jamaica 2018	Splits
Angara Sinclair	1:04.08	Safiya Officer	1:03.61
Tiara Myrie	1:07.98	Isabella Sierra	1:05.21
Annabella Lyn	1:03.15	Ireland Hunter	1:03.45
Annastazia Chin	1:03.21	Morgan Cogle	1:01.47
Total Time	4:18.42	Total Time	4:13.77

NO LIMITS FOR LYN

Girls 13-14 50 metre butterfly podium from left to right Watson-Brown Bermuda Silver medallist, Lyn Gold, Reyes Briceno, Bronze medallist Colombia Photo courtesy of CCCAN

Sabrina would complete the butterfly sprint double when she won the 13-14 50 metre butterfly. She came to Aruba with a personal standard of 30.43 . Lyn who is normally know for her back end speed is showing versatility by adding the the sprint fly to her better events. She lowered her personal standard in the morning heats with a time of 30.03 to be the fifth seed heading into the Championship final. The first four finishers clocked 29 s. With teammate Emily MacDonald out the final due to illness Jamaica’s hopes lay solely with Lyn to get a medal. The faith put in her was not misplaced as she destroyed her old personal best and turned in the only sub 29 seconds performance of the race to win in 28.66. Silver went to Bermuda’s Logan Watson-Brown in 29.07 and the Bronze to Colombia’s  Laura Catalina Reyes Briceno 29.42

BREAKOUT FOR BRYANNA

Girls 15-17 400 IM medallists from left to right Alondra Ortíáz Costa Rica Silver medallist, Bryanna Renuart Gold medallist and Bronze medallist Ana Pastrana Honduras Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

The year 2018 will be one to remember for Bryanna Renuart. When the year started she  never won any individual Gold but turned that around at CARIFTA when she took the hardest route to Gold and captured the 15-17 400 individual medley title.

Bryanna Renuart swimming in the heats of the 400 IM Photo courtesy of CCCAN

A two sport standout in both swimming and cross country track she dropped the latter to focus on swimming. That singular focus has continued to reap big dividends as she won her second career Gold in 5:12.42 holding off the challenges from Alondra Ortíáz of Costa Rica 5:13.30 Silver and  Ana  Pastrana Honduras 5:14.38 Bronze.

Draftingthecaribbean spoke to Renuart and asked her about her accomplishments

Bryanna Renuart powering her way to 400 IM Gold Photo courtesy of CCCAN

“I was really excited to get another gold in the 400 IM. I wasn’t tapered for this meet as I have a few more this summer, so I was very proud to have found the strength to win it, especially because it is my longest and hardest event. Even though it wasn’t a best time for me, my consistency in that race gives me a lot of confidence for my future competitions with the Jamaican team.I don’t see myself as a natural distance swimmer because I have done better in sprints in the past. Knowing that I am swimming so well in that event right now makes me confident that my training is working. I’m excited to have more event flexibility in the future”.

 

Boys 15-17 50 metre butterfly medal podium from left to right Payne Curaçao Silver medallist, Yorke Gold medallist ,Vale Bronze medallist Photo courtesy of CCCAN

Nicholas Vale would rattle the 15-17 age group record in the 50 metre butterfly when he won the Bronze in a personal best of 25.59. The national record stands at 25.55 to Olympian Timothy Wynter (Rio 2016) set the 2012 CISC . Gold went Trinidad and Tobago’s Kael Yorke who won in 25.17 and the Silver to Curaçao’s Mauricio Payne in 25.50.

Girls 15-17 400 metre freestyle relay podium from left to right Jamaica Silver medallists,Aruba Gold medallists and Honduras Bronze medallists Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

Silver was won by the girls 15-17 400 metre freestyle relay team of Annabella Lyn (1:01.28),Bryanna Renuart (1:01.09),Naomi Eaton (1:02.09) and Gabrianna Banks (1:00.95)  in time of of 4:05.37. Gold was won by Aruba in 3:57.72 and the Bronze by Honduras in 4:08.21.

Boys 11-12 400 metre freestyle medallists from left to right Aruba Silver medallists,Trinidad and Tobago Gold medallists and Jamaica Bronze medallists Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

The 11-12 boys 400 metre freestyle relay won the Bronze in a time of 4:11.59.The team of Daniel Mair (1:02.98),Joshua Mair (1:02,81),Jaedon Lynch 1:03.61 and Adrian Balfour (1:02.19) finished behind Trinidad and Tobago 4:01.48 and Aruba 4:11.56.

The Personal best count went to 27 at the end of of Day Three

Day	Name	Event		Personal Best	Previous Best
Three	Safiya Officer	Girls 11-12 200 metre freestyle		2:27.39	2:28.88
Three	Morgan Cogle	Girls 11-12 200 metre freestyle		2:19.47	2:23.89
Three	Morgan Cogle	Girls 11-12 200 metre freestyle		2:14.16 AGR	2:19.47
Three	Joshua Mair	Boys 11-12 200 metre freestyle		2:20.82	2:22.47
Three	Isabella Sierra	Girls 11-12 50 metre butterfly		31.21	32.32
Three	Aliyah Heaven	Girls 11-12 50 metre butterfly		31.76	32.23
Three	Joshua Mair	Boys 11-12 50 metre butterfly		30.80	33.03
Three	Jaedon Lynch	Boys 11-12 50 metre butterfly		30.82	31.27
Three	Sabrina Lyn	Girls 13-14 50 metre butterfly		28.66	30.43
Three	Nathaniel Thomas	Boys 13-14 50 metre butterfly		26.85	26.91
Three	Nicholas Vale	Boys 15-17 50 metre butterfly		25.59	25.67
Three	Morgan Cogle	Girls 11-12 100 metre backstroke		1:11.72	1:13.55
Three	Safiya Officer	Girls 11-12 100 metre backstroke		1:16.27	1:18.45
Three	Amore Hunter	Girls 13-14 100 metre backstroke		1:15.24	1:16.46
Three	Annabella Lyn	Girls 15-17 100 metre backstroke		1:10.17	1:10.85
				4:13.74	4:18.02

 

 

 

 

SABRINA LYN SETS NEW 13-14 BUTTERFLY RECORD AS JAMAICA TAKES 1-2 IN 100 BUTTERFLY, VALE SIBLINGS AND RENUART ALSO ADD TO MEDAL HAUL

Day 2 of the 2018 CCCAN Swimming championships on Saturday June 30 saw Team Jamaica adding Five more medals to their treasure chest. The team won One Gold Two Silver and Two Bronze medals. The total medal count after two days of competition stands at Seven, One Gold, Two Silver and Four Bronze medals

Sabrina Lyn in the morning heats of the 100 metre butterfly Photo courtesy of CCCAN

Leading the way for the Black, Green and Gold was Sabrina Lyn in the girls 13-14 100 metre butterfly.

Silver and Gold medallist MacDonald and Lyn Photo courtesy of CCCAN

In this event Jamaica had not won a medal in the event for than 13 years on Saturday it would be two won as Emily MacDonald earned the Silver in the same event.

Girls 13-14 100 metre butterfly podium from left to right MacDonald,Lyn and Reyes Briceno Photo courtesy of CCCAN

When gun sounded in the Championship final it would be the Jamaicans who separated themselves from the field as Lyn and MacDonald had the only sub 30 seconds splits of 29.83 and 29.96 respectively.Over the last 25 metres it would be Sabrina who pulled away from her teammate to get a decisive win in new PB 13-14 age group record and PAN AM B time of  1:03.82. MacDonald earned Silver in 1:05.36 and The Bronze to Laura Catalina Reyes Briceno of Colombia in 1:06.77.

 

This Gold medal performance by Sabrina marks her second consecutive CCCAN Gold in the event as in 2017 in Trinidad and Tobago she won the 11-12 crown .It also marks her second consecutive age group record breaking swim as she had set the current 11-12 age group mark in the twin island republic last year on June 29.

The old age group record was held by MacDonald when she had won CARIFTA Gold in a time of 1:04.28 (split time 29.61).The PAN AM B standard stands at 1:04.93.Lyn who had not qualified for CARIFTA in the event as she was not in top two is now Jamaica’s fastest age group  100 metre butterflier of all time in the age category.

Sabrina Lyn  Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

When draftingthecaribbean spoke to Lyn she gave this impression of her record swim

“The race was smooth and nice.I had a great start and my turn was good. I just kept pace. I got tired towards the end but maintained the pace. I felt good about my race.”

Girls 13-14 50 metre backstroke podium Vale,Watson -Brown and Ince Photo courtesy of CCCAN

Simone Vale earned Silver in the 13-14 50 metre backstroke as she produced a personal best time of 32.02. In a very tight race 7 swimmers swam 32 seconds.Gold went Bermuda Logan Watson-Brown in 31.62.Bronze went to Kimberly Ince of Grenada in 32.16.

15-17 100 metre butterfly podium Bronze medallist Payne of Curaçao. Gold medallist Yorke of Trinidad and Tobago and Bronze medallist Vale Photo courtesy of CCCAN

Her brother Nicholas would not be left out on the medal podium party as he won the Bronze in the boys 15-17 100 metre butterfly in a time of 56.67 (split time 26.21). Gold went Kael Yorke in 55.28 (split time 26.68)  who recorded the Golden Double as he also won the CARIFTA title in Jamaica. Silver was won by Curaçao’s Mauricio Payne in 56.54 (split time 26.45). Teammate Jesse Marsh was disqualified.

Nicholas starting the championship final from Lane 1 Photo courtesy of CCCAN

Vale again provided the “outside smoke” as he did in his hometown of Kingston Jamaica earned his medal from Lane 1 .

Competing in her final year of the 15-17 age group Bryanna Renuart stopped the clock in 2:45.63 (split time 1:18.60) to win Bronze in the 200 metre breaststroke. This is a step up from 2017 from Renuart who was fourth in 2017 in 2:47.79 (split time 1:19.04). She also won the CARIFTA Bronze at home in Kingston earlier in the year.

Jamaica would also have other Championship finalists on the day.

Brooke Hopkins competing in the final of the girls 11-12 200 metre breaststroke Photo courtesy of CCCAN

Brooke Hopkins placed 7th in the 11-12 girls 200 metre breaststroke (split time 1:27.38).

Mair getting on the blocks for the heats of the 11-12 200 metre breaststroke Photo courtesy of CCCAN

Jaedon Lynch placed 7th in the boys 11-12 200 metre breaststroke in 2:53.59 . Teammate Joshua Mair placed 8th in a PB of 2:56.13.Annabella Lyn recorded a new PB of 31.90 to place 7th in the 15-17 girls 50 metre backstroke.

PERSONAL BESTS RECORDED SO FAR

Day	Name	Event	Personal Best	Previous Best
One	Naomi Eaton	Girls 15-17  800 metre freestyle	10:05.82	10:11.99
Two	Joshua Mair	Boys 11-12 200 metre breaststroke	2:56.13	2:56.28
Two	Safiya Officer	Girls 11-12 50 metre backstroke	33.65	34.61
Two	Daniel Mair	Boys 11-12 50 metre backstroke	34.26	34.60
Two	Simone Vale	Girls 13-14 50 metre backstroke	32.02	32.05
Two	Annabella Lyn	Girls 15-17 50 metre backstroke	31.90	32.59
Two	Ireland Hunter	Girls 11-12 100 metre butterfly	1:17.56	1:20.37
Two	Isabella Sierra	Girls 11-12 100 metre butterfly	1:20.04	1:26.20
Two	Jaedon Lynch	Boys 11-12 100 metre butterfly	1:11.26	1:12.26
Two	Joshua Mair	Boys 11-12 100 metre butterfly	1:11.86	1:18.58
Two	Sabrina Lyn	Girls 13-14 100 metre butterfly	1:03.82 AGR	1:05.69

MORGAN COGLE ENDS 11-12 CARIFTA BACKSTROKE MEDAL DROUGHT

Morgan Cogle celebrating her 100 metre backstroke Bronze medal Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

Of the debutantes on this year’s CARIFTA team Morgan Cogle in the 11-12 age group led the medal charge for that group with Six medals.She swam her way to Two Gold , Two Silver and Two Bronze medals.

In the 200 metre backstroke she ended a five year medal drought when she took the Silver when she touched in a time of 2:38.19. The last medallist was teammate Annabella Lyn who won Silver as in front of a home crowd as well  in 2013 That also is the fastest time recorded by a Jamaican girl in that age group in over a decade at CARIFTA.

11-12 metre backstroke medal podium from left to right Silver medallist Keianna Moss of The Bahamas, Gold medallist Milli-jo MacDonald of Barbados and Bronze medallist Cogle Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

The 100 metre backstroke saw her ending a more than five year long medal drought as she won the Bronze in 1:13.55.The last podium finish was in 2012 by age group backstroke standout Angara Sinclair in The Bahamas.

11-12 Gold Medallists from left to right Cogle,Heaven,Sierra and Officer Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

Three medals were won in the relays. The 200 metre freestyle relay was a national record as she joined teammates  Safiya Officer,Isabella Sierra and Aliyah Heaven in winning in a Championship record of 1:55.47.

400 metre freestyle Gold champions from left to right Cogle, Hunter ,Officer and Heaven Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

There would be another relay Gold when the team of Officer,Heaven,Ireland Hunter and Cogle  took the victory in 4:19.13.

Mixed 400 metre freestyle Bronze medallists from left to right Robe,Cogle,Balfour and Officer Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

In the mixed 400  metre freestyle relay Devaughn Robe  and Adrian Balfour joined Cogle and officer to take the Bronze in 4:13.73.

The 100 metre freestyle saw her continuing a strong Jamaican tradition of medalling almost every year in the sprint freestyle events when she won the Silver in 1:03.11.

When Draftingthecaribbean spoke to the young swimmer on April  7 about her debut in the Jamaican colours “I was happy for the opportunity to represent Jamaica.  I was also glad to be able to help the team by winning the medals. I am excited for more to come!”

GOLD AND BRONZE FOR 15-17 GIRLS WILLIAMS AND LYN HELP JAMAICA TO DOMINATE 200 FREE PODIUM

Moments after watching teammate Emily MacDonald dominate the girls 13-14 200 free event to win Gold it was up to Britney Williams and Annabella Lyn to carry on the momentum for the Jamaicans in the 15-17 age group and that they did .

Both swimmers are known for being good middle to long distance for the nation and would finish strong. The question would be what tactics would be employed by their competitors. In 2017 in The Bahamas Williams and Lyn finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Annabella clocked 2:11.95 for the third seed into the Championship final while Williams was sixth overall with a time of 2:13.46.

In the final the race played to the strengths of the Jamaicans as the pace was not pushed and no swimmer threatened the minute mark.With 150 metres swum that is when Williams decided to make her move and break from a tightly bunched field and initiated the charge for the final wall. That move proved to be decisive as Williams shifted gears and the field started to separate. Putting on her charge of her own was Swarthmore College bound Lyn .Lilly Higgs of The Bahamas,  also responded to Williams break to the front.

15-17 200 metre freestyle podium from left to right Higgs,Williams and Lyn Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

In the end Britney did enough to win and held on take her Gold in 2:10.32 ,Higgs outtouched Lyn to repeat last year’s Silver medal winning performance 2:11.03 to 2:11.09.

Britney Williams celebrating with the crowd Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

The joy was evident for Britney as she slapped the water and then waved to the crowd and they responded in kind to the Gold and Bronze by the home team.

CARIFTA 200 metre freestyle medallists Williams, Lyn and 13-14 Gold Medallist Emily MacDonald Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

 

EMILY MacDONALD’S BRONZE MEDAL IN THE 50 METRE AND 15-17 GIRLS 200 METRE MEDLEY RELAY RECORD PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHT JAMAICAN PERFORMANCE ON DAY ONE OF UANA CUP

Day one of the UANA Cup in Coral Springs Florida was highlighted by Emily MacDonald’s Bronze medal in the 13-14 50 metre freestyle and the 15-17 Girls national record performance in the 200 metre medley relay.

Jamaica’s first Bronze medallist at the UANA Cup Emily MacDonald 13-15 50 metre freestyle Bronze medallist

Competing in temperatures reaching as low as 14 degrees celsius MacDonald captured the Bronze medal in a time of 27.42 .She finished behind the duo of Mexican Athena Meneses Kovacs and Fabiana Pesce of Venezuela who tied for the Gold in a time of 27.10. Emily who in her last national outing was won the 13-14 Gold at the CCCAN in Trinidad and Tobago last summer and holds the 11-12 national record had the following thoughts about her performance

“Medalling at UANA was a very big accomplishment for me especially swimming against the best swimmers from Central and South America who I am not used to competing against. Winning the very first medal for Jamaica at this meet was also a big accomplishment for me”.

15-17 Record holders in the 200 metre medley relay from left to right Brianna Anderson,Gabrianna Banks, Annabella Lyn and Naomi Eaton

In the very last race Jamaica competed in the 15-17 quartet of Brianna Anderson backstroke, Gabrianna Banks breaststroke, Annabella Lyn butterfly and Naomi Eaton freestyle set a new mark of 2:09.56 in the 200 metre medley relay to place 6^th .

Dawn Kane Photo courtesy of goduke.com

The old record was set over 20 years ago when the Tornadoes team of Lydia Gordon backstroke, Jelaine James breaststroke, Olympian Angela Chuck now Kane butterfly and Thea Davis freestyle set the previous standard of 2:13.54 on May 7, 1997 at the National Stadium pool in Kingston.

Just missing out on medal in the 15-17 50 metre freestyle was Gabrianna Banks who touched in fourth place in a time of 27.31

The team also saw four members of the team recording personal bests

Name	Event	Age Group	Time
Sabrina Lyn	200 metre IM	13-14	2:44.98
Annabella Lyn	200 metre IM	15-17	2:32.52
Karci Gibson	50 metre freestyle	15-17	29.29
Nathaniel Thomas	200 metre IM	13-14	2:31.03

The team will be back in action tomorrow at 10:20 am local time starting with the 400 metre individual medley

JESSE MARSH AND EMILY MacDONALD RECORD BEST TIMES BY JAMAICAN SWIMMERS AT 2017 COMMONWEALTH YOUTH GAMES IN THE BAHAMAS

The recently concluded Commonwealth Youth Games in The Bahamas saw swimmers Jesse Marsh and Emily MacDonald recording the best times ever swum by Jamaicans at the competition in their respective events.

Competing in the 200 metre butterfly Marsh lowered his personal best from 2:11.47 to 2:10.31 to place 13^th overall. That bettered the previous Jamaican best time of 2:22.06 at the competition set by Dominic Walter at the 2008 Pune India Games. It is also the second fastest time recorded by a Jamaican at the Commonwealth Games at either the senior or junior level. The top time by a Jamaican is held by Jesse’s father Allan-Roy at the senior level . Allan-Roy recorded 2:06.89 at the 1982 Brisbane Australia Games.

When asked about his experience Jesse, who holds the 13-14 200 metre butterfly national record had the following thoughts

“Well the experience wasn’t really what I expected because of all the challenges we faced getting to the games and not being able to stay at the hotel with the rest of the team among other things. As for my performances I was disappointed not being able to swim the 50 and 100fly as I thought I had a pb in me in the 50 and in the 100 I had a good chance of being in the top 8. The 200fly I was satisfied but not entirely pleased with my performance as I knew if I was more mentally there I could’ve been a lot faster but I got a pb and now I’m looking forward to racing the events that I missed and the 200fly again in a few days. I will be racing at the Florida  Gold Coast Senior Champs in Coral Springs this weekend July 28-30 and then at the Futures championships in Nashville, TN on the following weekend August 3-6”.

Jesse Marsh and Emily MacDonald at the Betty Kelly-Kenning Aquatic Centre

Emily who competed in the 50 metre freestyle recorded a time of 27.60 to place 15^th overall. That is the best time and placing for Jamaica at this level for the Commonwealth Games. The previous best was 29.02 and 25^th place by Annabella Lyn at the 2015 Samoa Games. Her performance also doubles at the best placing for a Jamaican woman at both junior and senior level in the event as the previous best was 22^nd by Angela (Dawn) Kane at the 2002 Manchester Games.  Her 27.60 is also the third fastest by a Jamaican woman at either the senior or junior. The list is headed by times recorded at the senior level at the 2002 Manchester Games .Olympian Angela (Dawn) Kane (2000,2004)  tops the list with a time of 27.09 .Kane is followed on the chart by Tamara Swaby with her effort of 27.25 at the same Games.

MacDonald who is the reigning CCCAN Champion in the 13-14 girl’s 50 metre freestyle gave her impression of the experience to draftingthecaribbean recently

“It was definitely a thrill to compete against athletes from countries that have such big reputations in swimming.  It is a joy for me to compete against people who are always going to push me.  I felt I could have done better but some accreditation issues had me quite anxious until the night before my race. Overall though I’m pleased because my time was still within my normal range”

 

This is the fourth contingent of swimmers Jamaica has sent to the Games

Year	Country	Swimmers
2008	Pune India	Dominic Walter
2008	Pune India	Alexia Royal-Eatmon
2008	Pune India	Kendese Nangle
2011	Isle of Man	Matthew Chen
2011	Isle of Man	Breanna Roman
2015	Samoa	Annabella Lyn
2015	Samoa	Joseph Black