The Year of the X continues! Puerto Rican age group star Puerto Rico’s Xavier ” X Man” Ruiz continues to lower the all junior record records in the breaststroke events. The site of his last record breaking feat is the in Columbus , Ohio. The occasion is the SPEEDO Junior Winters Championships -East.
Jordy Groters
Photo courtesy of flaswimnetwork.com
The regional SCY standard at Winter Junior Nationals was set in 2012 by Aruban Jordy Groters. Competing at the Junior Nationals which was not separated by East or West Groters won Silver competing for the Pine Crest swim Club. He won Silver in a time of 54.58 .His splits were 25.81 and 28.77. It was a close battle for the Gold as the winner was Curtis Ogren of Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics in 54.41.
Jordy Groters. Photo courtesy of 297 Sports
Jordy , who is the Head Coach of Giants Aruba is currently competing in Florida with his team at 33rd Annual Winter Championships in Plantation.
His Winter Junior nationals mark was going strong until Friday December 8, 2023. X Man who has committed to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill lowered the junior regional standard at Winter Junior Nationals. Representing Ridgefield Aquatics his splits in the heats were 25.83 and 28.33 as he hit the wall in 54.16 for a new PB and junior regional best. He had a previous best time of 55.45 (split 26.23).
There would be more history to be made in the final later. The Championship final saw a tightly bunched field at the half way mark with X Man fifth in a fast 25.33. He pushed hard in the last 50 yards with a split of 28.13 to earn the Bronze in 53.46. . The Silver was won Noah Cakir of Team Suffolk in 53.28.The Gold was won by Joshua Wang of Surburban Seahawks in 52.97.
Xavier “X Man” Ruiz.Photo courtesy of Xavier Ruiz
Yet another significant milestone to be celebrated in the aquatic journey of Ruiz. The achievement is yet another stepping stone to for Xavier, his team, Puerto Rico and the wider Caribbean region.
Last year’s season ending World Short Course Swimming Championships saw Izaak Bastian of The Bahamas confirming his status as the best from his nation as well as among all time best from the Caribbean and CCCAN region.
The Florida State senior came to Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi having competed at the major swim meet of his career, the Olympics. These World Championships would mark another major milestone.
On Thursday December 16 competing in heat four of the 100 metre breaststroke Izaak became the first Bahamian to break the one minute barrier . He put together splits of 28.04 and 31.57 to stop the clock in 59.61 (800 FINA points). That would place him fourth in the heat . The time also placed him 30th overall.
Allan Murray
Photo courtesy of macfit360.com
Not only did he break the minute barrier he shattered the national record set by fellow Olympian Allan Murray of 1:05.15 set in January 1996 . The record breaking swim was also the highest placed performance by a Bahamian man in the event at any of the senior World Championships , long course or short course. The previous best standing was 50th by another Olympian Dustin Tynes. He had swum 1:03.50 at the 2015 long course World Championships to earn that ranking. The performance also solidifies Izaak as best from The Bahamas in all formats of this race yards, short course metres and long course metres.
RECORD BREAKING YEAR
Breaststroke in the Caribbean region has entered a golden era . This is seen been the new fast entries in the all time top ten for the CCCAN competitors. Bastian has more than kept pace as seen by his ranking at number seven.
Bastian would be equally destructive in the 50 metre breaststroke four days later. The Bahamian standard stood at 30.71 before Izaak landed in the United Arab Emirates. He crushed that mark taking more than three seconds off that time. He stopped the clock in 27.24 (796 FINA points) for 24th overall .
Dustin Tynes
The new record swim also placed The Bahamas in the top 30 for the 50 metre breaststroke for men for the first time at any senior World Championships. Countryman Tynes again had the best placing when he swam to 28.74 for 43rd at the 2015 Kazan World Championships held in a 50 metre pool. Izaak has the accolade of holding all the short course yards breaststroke for his university. He can add again to his impressive CV being the fastest Bahamian breaststroker in all formats of the 50 metre event .
In the this sprint event Izaak is even closer to the top of the all time best in the CCCAN region.
He also showed his speed in the mixed 4 x 50 metre freestyle relay. He split 22.27 on the second leg of the team that clocked 1:36.43. That race stands a as a national record and ranked The Bahamas as the fastest team from the CCCAN region at the Championships.
Izaak Bastian
Draftingthecaribbean got the opportunity get Bastian’s views on his first World Short Course Championships experience.
“Honestly I did not have any expectations coming here. I have never raced short course metres and I have been training short course yards. They are similar but not exactly the same .I just wanted to come and give it my all and have a good time. After the race I did not have much to compare them with so I took them as they were and walked with a good experience. I jumped a couple of positions from my seed times so that is always a good thing and broke the national records. I got to explore the city a bit and that was a plus from what we had in Tokyo. It was also good to see some friends from the Caribbean that I had not seen in a while. The whole trip certainly surpassed everything I could have expected or wanted from the meet”.
With the World Short Course Swim Championships scheduled for Kazan Russia look for Bastian to challenge the 850 FINA points standard and for the crown as the all time best in the sprint breaststroke events.
The year 2021 has seen Antigua and Barbuda’s Jadon Wuilliez introduce himself on the collegiate level with some of the best times seen in the CARIFTA region in the short course yards pool. In the United States he has become the fifth fastest Caribbean swimmer ever in the 100 yard breaststroke midway his first season with a time of 52.72.
Jadon Wuilliez .Photo courtesy of TCU swimming and Diving
What we saw in college from the Texas Christian University freshman was just a glimpse of what he would do on the international stage.
Today at the Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates he crowned himself the fastest CARIFTA region swimmer in the 100 metre breaststroke of all time at the World Short Course Swimming Championships.
He came to the Middle East with a personal best of 1:00.67 from June 26 this year while competing for Plymouth Leander. That mark would be crushed . Swimming from heat 2 the man from St John’s covered the field in the first 50 metres . He blazed to a split of 27.65. That time also bettered his 50 metre national record 27.74. He brought it home in 31.08 to touch in a new national record of 58.73. That was the fastest time ever done by a CARIFTA region, Caribbean or CCCAN swimmer. It is also the first time a swimmer from the CARIFTA region had broken the 59 seconds barrier.
Abraham McLeod .Photo courtesy of FINA
The previous unofficial CARIFTA region record had been set almost a decade ago .The record holder was Abraham McLeod of Trinidad and Tobago who had stopped the clock in 59.35 at the 2012 edition in Istanbul Turkey.
COMPARISON OF RECORD SWIMS
It was Jadon’s better speed endurance in the last 50 metres that helped him get through that 59 seconds barrier first.
Alejandro Jacobo .Photo courtesy of pinterest
The previous unofficial CCCAN record was set by Mexican Alejandro Jacobo . Alejandro is a graduate of Texas A&M , the same school as the women’s CCCAN, Caribbean , CARIFTA Region and world record holder Jamaican Alia Atkinson. Jacobo set the time of 58.83 at his country’s National Short Course Championships in 2008.
Jadon held on to all three accolades and had the fastest time at the global showpiece until heat 4. The 19 year old lost the CCCAN and Caribbean titles to the Dominican Republic’s Josue Dominquez .the 25 year old Brigham Young University student won in 58.44.
It has been quite the start for Jadon on this stage placing 24th. He now completely dominates his national sprint breast record books.
With a swim worth 836 FINA points the region looks to to see if he will get into the 900 points range for other international events in 2022.
Olympian Mikel Schreuders has signalled a return to form right before the 15th World Short Course Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi. The 6’2 Aruban took down three of his nation’s national swimming standards in the long course ( 50 metre pool) at the 2021 French Elite Winter Championships .
The meet which was held from December 9 to 12 saw Schreuders setting new national records in the 50 metre freestyle, 50 metre breaststroke and 100 metre butterfly. Mikel under the banner of his club CN MARSEILLE (Cercle des Nageurs de Marseille) lowered his first mark in the butterfly event.
Swimming in the heats of the race on December 9 he swam splits of 25.47 and 29.18 to touch the wall in 16th position overall. That lowered the record of former University of Missouri team mate Jordy Groters of 55.82. Jordy had set that time at the 2015 XXXIII Invitacional Internacional Naco in the Dominican Republic. Mikel did not contest the evening’s finals.
Record number two would come the following day on Friday December 10. Mikel, primarily known for his freestyle exploits had owned the national record in the 50 metre freestyle of 22.84. He had set that time in a third place finish in the B final of the TYR Pro Swim Series – Knoxville . In Montpellier he crushed that time in the morning preliminaries with a swim of 22.56 . That earned him a lane in the Championship final . The man from Oranjestad would cut more time off to land the Silver in 22.38, almost half a second from his best at the start of the day. He is just off the Fukuoka 2022 World championships A time of 22.18.
Gold was won by Maxime Grousset of CS CLICHY 92 in 22.09 and the Bronze by Thomas Piron of Lyon Swimming Metropole in 22.45.
On the final day of the meet he contested just the morning heats of the 50 metre breaststroke .With a reaction time of 0.68 of a second he was fourth overall in 28.18. That took down another Groters standard of 28.40. Jordy had set the record at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest Hungary. With that heat swim Mikel has bettered the Fukuoka B time of 28.29. He is now tied for third all time for breaststroker from the region with Olympian Dustin Tynes of The Bahamas.
In his other primary events , the 100 and 200 metre freestyle races he had very strong showings. In the 100 he was the number one seed for the Championship final after putting down a morning marker of 49.35. The heats swim was almost as fast as the time he recorded at the 2020 Olympics of 49.35, the best Aruban performance ever at the Games in the event. In that final he stopped the clock in 49.29 with splits of 49.29 for sixth overall. It was the fourth fastest time of his career and best in season. The Fukuoka A time in the event stands at 48.77. Only his swims at the 2019 Pan American Games and 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games have been faster.
The race was won by Grousset in 48.45.
In the 200 metre freestyle he equalled his 2020 Olympic time and third best of his career to place fifth in 1:49.43. It is again his best in season time. The Fukuoka A time for the event stands at 1:47.06. there would be Gold for Mikel and his teammates in the 4 x 100 mixed freestyle relay. The team of Julien Berol 49.53, Schreuders 50.17,Marie Wattel 53.95 and Florine Gaspard touched first in 56.11.
Mikel posing with his Silver and Bronze medals at the 2018 CAC Games. Photo courtesy of Comite Olimpico Arubano
Draftingthecaribbean spoke to Schreuders about his swims and how confident he will be for the World Short Course Swimming championships to be held from Dec 16 to 21
“I have been in France from October and I am very happy with my performances given the short time I have been training with them and the new programme.It really gives me a big confidence boost for the Short Course champs. Of course it was long course but hopefully the times will reflect in the short course and I can do my best and try to have as much as fun as I can with Aruba Aquatics Federation”.
Mikel is slated to compete in the 50, 100 and 200 metre freestyle events. He holds the national records in the 25 metre pool with swims of 23.12 and 50.58 from the 2014 World Champs in Doha Qatar. The 200 metre freestyle is held by Olympian Jemal Le Grand at the 2012 Istanbul, Turkey at 1:50.93. The records should all fall to Mikel in this coming week.
In her very first Championship for the Bolles school Jamaican Sabrina Lyn was a part of history setting a new school record in the 200 yard freestyle relay at the 1A State Championships. Sabrina, who will be competing at the first Pan American Games in Cali Colombia can also add the fact that her Bolles team set the second fastest time ever done in Florida High School history.
Sabrina Lyn making her debut at the Florida 1A State Championships
Photo courtesy of Shenique Patton
The history making feat was accomplished at the Florida 1A State Championships held at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center in Stuart Florida. Sabrina’s cv includes being a member of the Jamaican 13-14 Gold medal winning team at the 2019 CARIFTA that set a new national and Championship record of 1:49.82 . She had not been utilized in the qualifying District and Regional Championships leading up the State finale. In the perfect example of the swimming adage “Last one Fast One” Lyn was drafted into the team for the final on November 6. The Championship final also saw two other changes with Katherine Meyers-Labenz and Manita Sathianchokwisan added. The Jacksonville based team entered the night’s race as the second fastest. When the race started Katherine kept the team with the leaders with a split of 23.85.When Megan McGrath completed her leg in 23.13 it was a three team race. At the half way point it was Pine Crest with a significant lead at 46.61. That lead came about through a fantastic leg by Julia Podkoscielny who blazed to a split of 22.68. The University of Florida Gators commit had won the 200 yard IM in the fastest time across all four State meets and was always going to be the danger woman for the Panthers. Her father Head Coach Polish Olympic Great Mariusz is no stranger to the CARIFTA region having coached a number of the stars in their juniors. That list includes names from Aruba brothers Patrick and Jordy Groters and Daniel Jacobs, from Trinidad and Tobago Racine Ross and from Jamaica siblings Matthew and Annabella Lyn as well Simone and Nicholas Vale to name a few.
Lyn took on the third leg duties and split 23.40. She ensured Bolles never lost any ground before handing off to Manita. Sathianchokwisan is the reigning Age Group South East Asian Champion in the 50 metre freestyle and has always medalled in the 50 yard freestyle at the State Championships. She had been on the previous two Gold medal winning teams and delivered a third title. The Texas A & M commit scorched the field to split 22.30 and touch in a total time of 1:32.68. Second went to Kings Academy in 1:33.77 and the bronze to Pine Crest in 1:33.93.
The team lowered the 2013 school mark of 1:32.74. It is also the fastest time ever registered at the 1A championships. The State record stands at 1:31.66 set by Buchholz school in Gainesville.
School record comparison
Sabrina’s relay win continues a relay win streak for the CARIFTA region. Not only were they CARIFTA region victories at the 1A Championships they were also the fastest time in Florida for their respective years.
Chadé Nercisio before her race
Photo courtesy of Michael Lyn
Other victories were seen by Olympian and regional legends Bahamian Arianna Vanderpool -Wallace and Jamaican Janelle Atkinson. In 1997 and 2006 the winning times were also State records.
Janelle Atkinson at the 2001 CCCAN Championships
Photo courtesy of swimjamaica.com
Lyn would also do well in her individual events. Having qualified in two events for the prestigious events she set new personal bests in both. Lyn threatened her 50 yard freestyle PB time of 24.09 in the heats of the event. Sabrina swam 24.29 to place tenth. She was just outside the Championship final cut off. It took 24.11 to make it to the medal race. Undeterred in the night’s B final she crushed the field to register a huge PB of 23.57. She won the B final easily and posted a time that would have placed her sixth in the Championship final.
Sabrina dominating the B final of the 100 yard butterfly.
Photo courtesy of Shenique Patton
Sabrina just missed out on another Championship final in the 100 yard butterfly. She posted a time of 57.94 in the morning heats to place ninth. She was marginally outside of making her first individual final as it took 57.84 to be in the medal race. Lyn again dismissed the field in the B final to be the only swimmer under the 57 seconds mark . She clocked 56.42 (split time 26.20) to win. That time again would have placed her sixth in the Championship final. Lyn holds the national marks in the 11-12 and 13-14 age group marks for her nation at 1:05.69 and 1:03.19 .
Lyn was joined in by her CARIFTA regional countrywomen Kathryn Forde of Barbados and the Cayman Islands duo of Lila Higgo and Avery Lambert in the Bolles march to another State Championship victory.
The Bolles School’s CARIFTA ladies from left to right Lyn, Forde, Higgo and Lambert.Photo courtesy of Shenique Patton
Bolles dominated both the girls and boys competition amassing 370 and 574 points respectively
2021 Bolles 1A State Champions
Photo courtesy of The Bolles School
In Colombia Sabrina will be competing in the 100 metre breaststroke, 100 metre butterfly and
Antigua and Barbuda’s Jadon Wuilliez competed in just his second official meet for the Texas Christian University at the USC (University of Southern California Invite ) from October 15-16 but the times he produced were eye catching . The freshman produced swims that will turn heads in the region .It will also enable his nation to have a core of swimmers to be competitive at regional and international meets in the relay events.
Jadon Wuilliez
Photo courtesy of Texas Christian University
Competing for the Horned Frogs in the 100 yard breaststroke he shattered his personal best in the event by more than two seconds. In his NCAA debut against the University of Texas Permian Basin he had produced a time of 57.54. In sunny California he put together splits of 25.60 and 28.78 to finish in 54.38 . That placed him sixth overall. It also ranks him fifth in Horned Frogs school history. Let us look at that swim in the context of CARIFTA region swimming. Firstly in just his second collegiate race he is just off the NCAA Division I B standard of 54.27.
His time also puts him amongst the best the Caribbean has produced
ALL TIME TOP CARIBBEAN BREASTSTROKE PERFORMERS
Jadon continued to display his breaststroke skills in the 400 yard medley relay. He put down the the third fastest breaststroke split of the 13 teams. He was timed at 53.41. The Horned Frogs were the seventh fastest team on the day with a total time of 3:16.58.
In the sprint medley he put a fast early season breaststroke split of 24.35.His team placed 8th in the 200 yard medley in 1:29.79. In the longest breaststroke he put down an early season marker of 2:05.48 (split time 1:00.21). His personal best set in 2016 had stood at 2:16.38.
THREATENING SUB 20
Wuilliez has put his hat in the ring to see who will be the fastest Caribbean sprinter this season. He crushed his 50 yard freestyle personal best of 21.23 leading off the 200 yard freestyle relay against University of Texas Permian Basin. At the Uytengsu Aquatics Center Jadon dropped a time of 20.31 to place 11th. That speed was seen again in the 200 yard freestyle relay. His second leg of 20.07 helped his team to 1:20.77. That is the fourth fastest time in school history. It also placed the team fourth in California.
Jadon comes from the Plymouth Leander institution based in the United Kingdom. Plymouth t has produced some of the top swimmers in the region to include countryman and Olympian Stefano Mitchell , Saint Lucians Olympian Jean Luc Zephir, Jamaican national record holder Masai Zebechaka, Bahamian Victoria Russell and Youth Olympics Gold medallist Christian Homer from Trinidad and Tobago among others.
With his swims at the USC Invite Wuilliez now holds all the national records short course yards, short course metres and long course metres in the 50, 100 and 200 breaststroke events. He also owns the 50 yard freestyle national record beating the 20.81 Stefano Mitchell put up on the board earlier this year.
Texas Christian University amassed 1,098 points to finish third in the four team competition. The home team USC Trojans won with 1,741.5 with University of Nevada Las Vegas second with 1,233.5.
In 2019 Marvin Johnson Jr of The Bahamas had what can only be termed as a Dream CARIFTA Championships. He won a staggering Fourteen Gold Medals in Barbados. That is the best Gold medal haul since the other 50 strokes were added to the CARIFTA schedule in the early 2000’s . His medal haul in terms of sheer weight can only be compared to Olympian , CARIFTA region legend and fellow Bahamian Jeremy Knowles who turned back all of his competitors at CARIFTA 1999 in Jamaican to win 16 of a possible 16 events individual and relay events.
Johnson with 2019 CARIFTA treasure trove of Gold medals
MARVIN’S MARVELOUS MEDAL HAUL
Event
Time
Place
50 metre backstroke
30.75
Gold
100 metre butterfly
1:03.65
Gold
4 x 100 metre freestyle relay
4:08.13
Gold
200 metre freestyle
2:07.92
Gold
50 metre butterfly
28.26
Gold
100 metre backstroke
1:08.44
Gold
4 x 100 medley relay
4:46.54
Gold
200 metre IM
2:26.92
Gold
100 metre freestyle
56.61
Gold
mixed 4 x 100 metre freestyle
4:09.38
Gold
400 metre freestyle
4:36.01
Gold
50 metre freestyle
26.30
Gold
200 metre backstroke
2:28.26
Gold
4 x 50 metre freestyle relay
1:51.36
Gold
The following year should have seen him moving up to the 13-14 age group and testing his skills in a new age group. Then came the pandemic and the UANA Age group Championships in Peru was his only serious meet in 2020. Without competition for an extended period and just training in hopeful expectation for that challenge. Then came the opportunity with the UANA Olympic qualifier from April 29 to May 2. The question was how would Marvin react to swimming in an open competition with much older and accomplished swimmers. Two age group national records later and putting his name among the very best not only in the CARIFTA but CCCAN region. Question asked Question answered!
In Peru Johnson had placed fourth in the 200 metre freestyle in the 13-14 age group in a new Bahamas record of 2:01.13. That lowered the mark of 2:02.72 held by Samuel Gibson. In Clermont Florida he took the Bahamian age group standard to another level. In the preliminaries he earned a second swim with a massive personal best of 1:57.93.
200 metre freestyle
April 20,2021
Febrary 2020
First 50
27.25
27.64
Second 50
30.12
29.95
Third 50
31.12
32.09
Fourth 50
29.44
31.15
Total Time
1:57.93
2:01.13
IMPACT OF RECORD SWIM
The swim by Marvin would better the 13-14 record swum at the UANA Championships by Brazilian Gustavo Saldo.Saldo , who competed at the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships is committed to for the University of Louisville starting in September 2021. Marvin has entered the chat with names such as Dylan Carter of Trinidad and Tobago who holds the 2011 CCCAN record at 1:55.55 and is the fastest 13-14 of all time in the region. Other swimmers include Olympian Damian Alleyne of Barbados and Jose Santana of Puerto Rico who holds the record at the now defunct Caribbean Islands Swimming championships. With a number of high level meets left for the year including the Bahamian Nationals at the end of the month Johnson can move significantly up the list of the elite in the age group if not take the overall crown.
TOP CCCAN 13-14 SWIMMERS OF ALL TIME BY NATION IN THE 200 METRE FREESTYLE
Name
Country
Time
Meet
Date
Dylan Carter
Trinidad and Tobago
1:55.55
CCCAN
June 2011
Amuri Rodriquez
Mexico
1:56.43
2005
Jose Santana
Puerto Rico
1:56.49
CISC
August 1988
Damian Alleyne
Barbados
1:57.09
CISC
July 1998
Daniel Jacobs
Aruba
1:57.15
Stingray Challenge
Novemeber 2015
Shaune Fraser
Cayman Islands
1:58.42
Jan 2003
Brad Hamilton
Jamaica
1:59.84
CARIFTA
April 2004
In the C final he posted the second fastest time of his career when he touched ninth in 1:59.81.
The Bahamas record in the 13-14 100 metre freestyle was held by another swimmer on a great trajectory ,Lamar Taylor at 53.09.Lamar had set that time with a commanding win at the 2018 CCCCAN Championships in Aruba. In Peru at the UANA age group competition Marvin had won the Silver in a time of 54.36. Gold was won Trinidad and Tobago’s Nikolai Blackman in a Championship record of 53.84. In the heats of the event in Florida he was exactly a second faster to make the D final. That final proved to be historic as he broke the record to place second in a time of 53.09.
COMPARISON OF RECORD SWIMS
100 metre freestyle
Johnson 2021
Taylor 2018
First 50
25.86
25.62
Second 50
27.14
27.47
Total time
53.00
53.09
Marvin’s better closing speed helped him to gain the national record.
IMPACT OF RECORD SWIM
The swim puts him amongst the best from the CCCAN region . With more top end speed he can chase the CARIFTA all time mark held by Joshua Romany.That also doubles as the fastest ever by a swimmer for the CCCAN region
TOP 13-14 100 METRE FREESTYLE PERFORMANCES BY NATION
Name
Country
Time
Record/ NR
Date
Crox Acuna
Venezuela
52.20
CCCAN record
2005
Joshua Romany
Trinidad and Tobago
53.64
CARIFTA record
2010
Joshua Romany
Trinidad and Tobago
52.33
NR
2010
Lamar Taylor
The Bahamas
53.09
Former NR
2018
Amauri Rodriquez
Mexico
53.17
NR
2005
Jordy Groters
Aruba
53.15
NR
2011
Damian St Prix
Barbados
53.29
NR
2015
Jordan Portela
Puerto Rico
53.46
NR
2014
Brad Hamilton
Jamaica
53.69
NR
2004
Marvin at the 2018 CCCAN Champs in Aruba. Photo courtesy of CCCAN
Draftingthecaribbean spoke to Marvin about his UANA competition and he gave this feedback
“Breaking the records is a big step because training over the year has been worth it and it was not a waste. Breaking those two records was a confidence booster and it is pushing me to do more. Being the first international meet since UANA 2020 it was big since missing the travelling and different competition was big eye opener for me I know I have to work on a number of things so that I can continue to improve my times to be more effective and more dangerous at these international meets”.
Marvin will be in action at the Bahamian Nationals from June 24 to 27 where we can see just what he has worked on to get even faster.
At the UANA Olympic qualifier in Clermont Florida not only have national records been set but all time bests for the Caribbean. One swimmer who has elevated his level to not only being the best for his nation of the US Virgin Islands but the standard bearer for the entire Caribbean.
Before the meet started on April 29 he boasted a personal best and national record of 2:16.40. He set that mark in a third place finish at the 2019 PAN AM Games in Lima ,Peru. He rattled that record on Saturday morning with a heats swim of 2:17.00. The final would see him etching his name in the record books as the best of all time.
Sanes and Nils Wich-Glasen battling for 200 metre breaststroke Gold. Photo courtesy of Erica Espinosa
After an initial challenge by Nils Wich-Glasen of the Gator Swim club for the first 100 metres there was no answer to Adriel’s endurance. He took over the Championship final to win by over a second in a new personal best, US Virgin Islands and Caribbean best of 2:14.45. Wich-Glasen won the Silver in 2:15.95 and the Bronze to Tyler Christianson of Irish Aquatics in 2:16.58.
He was barely off the Tokyo Olympic B time of 2:14.26 and within the World Championships B standard of 2:14.88 for the 2021 World Short Course Championships to be held in the United Arab Emirates and the 2022 World Long Course Championships in Fukuoka Japan in May.
Adriel Sanes celebrating achieving a Tokyo Olympic B cut and becoming the fastest of all time in the 200 metre breaststroke. Photo courtesy of Erica Espinosa
In the very last swim of of the meet a time trial he gave it another shot. And as the saying goes “last one fast one”. He then took Caribbean swimming to a level it had never reached beyond 2:14 and 2:13 to set yet another Caribbean best of 2:12.59
This swim moves him to number one of all time. He beats the time of the former Caribbean leader Barbadian Bradley Ally of 2:14.52 .
Bradley Ally
Photo courtesy of
panamerican world
FOUR FASTEST TIMES DONE IN CARIBBEAN HISTORY
200 metre breaststroke
May 2,2021
May 1,2021
Bradley Ally July 2008
2019
First 50
29.53
29.88
30.91
30.39
Second 50
33.46
34.22
34.35
34.27
Third 50
34.23
34.48
34.30
34.91
Fourth 50
35.37
35.87
34.56
36.83
Total Time
2:12.59
2:14.45
2:14.52
2:16.40
All smiles from left to right President of UANA Maureen Croes , Adriel and Aruban Jordy Groters another all time Caribbean great in the 200 metre breaststroke. Photo courtesy of Erica Espinosa
TOP CARIBBEAN PERFORMERS
Country
Name
Time
Date
US Virgin Islands
Adriel Sanes
2:12.59
May 2021
Barbados
Bradley Ally
2:14.52
July 2008
Cuba
Mario Gonzalez
2:15.11
July 1996
Dominican Republic
Josue Dominguez
2:15.14
April 2021
The Bahamas
Izaak Bastian
2:16.07
March 2021
The Bahamas
Dustin Tynes
2:18.13
July 2015
Aruba
Jordy Groters
2:18.55
July 2015
Draftingthecaribbean spoke to Adriel about how he felt with his national records swims in the final and time trial
Sanes celebrating with mom Fran Sanes.Photo courtesy of Erica Espinosa
“When I did the 2:14.45, I was happy I was able to drop almost a full 2 seconds from my previous best time. It’s been a wild year and due to less practices because of COVID restrictions, I didn’t think I would’ve been able to drop that much time. I was more focused on the 100 breaststroke as a matter of a fact. So I was extremely happy even though I missed the FINA B cut by .19”.
Sanes reacting to the scoreboard .Photo courtesy of Erica Espinosa
“Then with the 2:12.59, it came as shock to me. I knew I was having a fantastic meet and because of that, I was encouraged to time trial the 200 breaststroke since I was so close to that FINA B cut. Seeing that I dropped another 2 seconds from a time that was 24 hours fresh of a 2 second best time was mind blowing. I was determined to get the FINA B cut, but to undercut it by 1.67 seconds was not what I had in mind. I guess I was just really that determined to achieve that FINA B cut and qualify for the Olympic Games since it has been a goal of mine ever since I started swimming”
Adriel had been in fantastic form from the first day of competition . In the 50 metre breaststroke he became the first swimmer from his nation to better 29 seconds in the 50 metre breaststroke. He stopped the clock in 28.31 to place fourth. The old record was held by Sanes from the 2018 Central American and Games in Barranquilla Colombia during the heats of the event. He would later top the B final in 29.22.
The race went to Josué Dominguez of the Dominican Republic who registered the fastest time ever for the Caribbean of 27.98. Silver went to Izaak Bastian of The Bahamas in new personal best of 28.22 . He was just off the Bahamian national record of 28.18. Bronze was won by regional legend Olympian Edgar Crespo of Panama in 28.23.
In the 100 metre breaststroke a day later he broke his national record in morning preliminaries. When he set the US Virgin Islands record at the 2019 World Aquatic Championships in Korea he went out in 29.18 before he stopped the clock in 1:02.91. In Florida he was well ahead of the pace taking the first 50 metres out in 28.84. He brought it home in 33.57 to take exactly half a second off the time . The scoreboard read 1:02.41 . In the final he was just off that time touching in 1:02.61 to place fifth. Gold went to Dominguez in 1:01.25 and Silver to Wich-Glasen in 1:01.90 and the Bronze to Bastian in 1:02.33.
Sanes is now in the perfect position to fine tune the breaststroke races to be even faster for the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer.
The CARIFTA region has reason to be very proud of its swimmers this conference season in the NCAA. One of the swimmers bringing joy to the US Virgin Islands and the wider region was Adriel Sanes . Representing the Denver University Pioneers Sanes was on fire for the Summit League championships presented by United States Air Force Special Operations which ran from Feb 19 to 22 at the Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls.
He started the meet with a new a Championship record in the 200 yard medley relay. The Pioneers A team of Cameron Auchinachie backstroke 21.33, Cy Jager breaststroke 23.49 , Sanes butterfly 21.05 and Sid Farber 19.00 handling anchor freestyle duties had no problems winning by over four seconds in a total time of 1:24.87, a NCAA B time. The team swim also took down the Championship record of 1:26.02 set by the 2017 Pioneers team. Each member of the team had the fastest splits for their respective strokes. The Pioneers also came close to their school record of 1:24.63 set at the Princeton Invitational in December last year.
Day two saw the same quartet knocking over yet another 2017 Pioneer record .This time it was in the 200 yard freestyle relay. The relay saw Cameron opening up the proceedings with a time of 19.33, followed by Sid 19.02,Jager 19.50 and then Sanes cementing the win with a split of 19.63. The total time was 1:17.48 erasing the old Championship mark of 1:17.62.It was done in yet another NCAA B standard time and came withing touching distance of the school record and NCAA time they produced in December of 1:17.09.
Patrick Groters. Photo courtesy of denverpioneers.com
In the 200 yard individual medley the Pioneers and the CARIFTA region occupied the top two spots. Aruban teammate Patrick Groters took down the school and Championship of 1:46.95 set by Tim Cottam in 2017 to record a new standard of 1:46.24. Sanes took the Silver in a time of 1:47.90 just off his personal best.He had the fastest breaststroke split of the field with a time of 30.50.
Pioneers sweep sprint breaststroke
It was back to regular programming for Sanes on Day three. In the 100 yard breaststroke he negative split the race 26.76 and 26.45 to record a new personal record of 53.21. In the final that strategy would not be employed as he and defending champion and teammate Cy Jager let it all hang out on the first 50 yards. Sanes had the slight edge 24.52 to Jager’s 24.53. Adriel’s strong last 50 yards of 27.80, the only sub 28 seconds of the Championships decided the winner. He touched in 52.32 , a new school,Championship and CARIFTA region best.The old school and Championship record belonged to Cottam at 53.00. The Pioneers dominated the event taking the top four spots.
100 yard breaststroke podium.Photo courtesy of J KlemmeSanes flashes a winning smile after securing the 200 yard breaststroke Conference Crown in a CARIFTA regional all time best time
Photo courtesy of Denver University parents
The final day would see yet another personal record, school record, NCAA B cut and CARIFTA region best in the 200 yard breaststroke. Sanes had the best splits on all four 50’s and had a total time of 1:55.70. He is the only swimmer from the CARIFTA region under 1:56.00.
Time
2020
2019
First 50
25.47
25.86
second 50
29.00
29.41
Third 50
29.93
30.52
Fourth 50
31.30
32.55
Total Time
1:55.70
1:58.34
He ended the meet anchoring the 400 yard freestyle relay with a split of 45.75.The team had a total time of 2:55.83.
Summit League MVP.Photo courtesy of Denver University parents
For his great efforts Adriel was named the Championship Swimming MVP.
Denver Pioneer Champion Men’s team
Photo courtesy of Denver University parents
The Pioneers won the men’s title with 1,082.50 points.The University of South Dakota were runner up with 706.5. Third place was won by South Dakota State University with a total of 645.50 points.
Adriel Sanes. Photo courtesy of Denver University parents
Draftingthecaribbean spoke to the talented Sanes in March about his swims
What has been the difference from last years Summit Champs to now mentally and in terms of training?
“So last season, the team went through some issues and it took a toll on me mentally. The training was great, but training could only get you so far if you’re not mentally ready. So last year’s Summit League Champs, it wasn’t as good as I trained for as I only went one best time. Still won the relays and the 200 breast, but it wasn’t as great, especially with the 200 breast being my best event. As with this year’s Summit League Champs, it was much different. Coming off of a great mid season meet that I had in Princeton where I went best times in all my events and helped qualify 3 relays to the NCAA Championships, it boosted my mental toughness to believing I could even do better at this year’s Summit League Champs. The training leading up to the meet was the best I’ve ever had and the week of the meet, I knew I was ready to dominate”.
He was also quizzed about his 100 breaststroke tactics
Your endurance has improved greatly.You negative split the heats coming back in 26.45.And in the final you really went after it splitting 24.5.What sets have you been working on to build this speed endurance and describe that race
“The result of that race was a real shocker to me. I know I’ve put in a lot of hard work over the season, over many years actually, but the result of that race still shocks me to this day. I normally train mid distance, but there are still plenty of opportunities I’ve had to train for the speed of the 100. Sets I’ve done that has helped are sets that I would do 50s at fast pace and hold that pace on short intervals of rest. Other sets are ones we wear cords and do 8-12 strokes fast against a strong resistance.Now with that 100 breast race, at Princeton, I already dropped .50 seconds off my best time going 53.50. So in prelims, I wanted to go as close to 53.00 or even break the barrier. I went 53.21 with good splitting and my teammate went 53.09, so I knew it was going to be a great race at finals. I was nervous before the race as I knew it was a race to break the 53 barrier and win the race. Knowing my teammate is more of the sprinter and takes it out strong, if I stayed right with him, I knew I could win the race as I have a great back half that I’ve trained for and especially since I’m great at the 200. The buzzer goes off and the first 50 was how I wanted/needed it to be. I could see I was right with my teammate and I told myself “I got this.” My walls and pullouts were tremendous and helped being able to take the race out in a 24.52 and bringing it back in a 27.80. Touching the wall to see a time of 52.32 was exciting, but shocking as I didn’t have any idea that I was swimming that fast. I couldn’t believe it honestly. It was a school and conference record by a wide margin. Now with that time, it is a strong possibility that it will be an invite time to the NCAA Championships and I could go to swim individually and not just on the relays, which is still exciting to this day”.
HISTORICAL IMPACT Of BREASTSTROKES RACES
Sanes was already the fastest of all time in the 200 yard breaststroke from 2018 when he overtook Aruban Jordy Groters best of 1:56.60 with a swim of 1:56.24. Jordy set that time at the 2016 NCAA Division I championships.He continues to be the best of all time and the first swimmer under 1:56.00 with his PB of 1:55.70.
Jordy Groters
Photo courtesy of mutigers.com
He is also the fastest swimmer ever from the CARIFTA region in the 100 breaststroke as he got under another Groters standard from the 2016 NCAA Division I Champs of 52.70 with his swim of 52.32.
Sanes was selected for All American honours by College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) and will also be a team captain for the 2020 -2021 season.
Before 2019 became history Aruban Patrick Groters was making his own for Aruba and himself. Competing at the US Open in December Patrick lowered the national record in the 200 individual medley. He crushed the old standard of 2:03.33 set during the preliminaries of the 2019 Pan AM Games in Peru to take it down to 2:01.62 on Dec 5.He set that time during the morning heats of the meet bettering the 2020 Tokyo Olympic B standard of 2:03.26. That historic swim would earn him a second swim in the B final where he would again be much better than the B standard placing sixth in a time of 2:01.84.
The meet which was held at the McAuley Natatorium , home of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games sees Patrick as fourth on the all time rankings of the best from the CARIFTA region in the event.
Jeremy Knowles
Photo courtesy of Bahamas swimming
Name
Country
Event
Time
Bradley Ally
Barbados
2008 Olympics
1:58.57
George Bovell III
Trinidad and Tobago
2004 Olympics
1:58.80
Jeremy Knowles
The Bahamas
2008 Olympics
2:01.35
Groters Brothers
Patrick and Jordy
Patrick is being guided on his road to Tokyo by his older brother Jordy. Draftingthecaribbean spoke to Jordy after the competition and got his thoughts about Patrick’s progression since the PAN American Games in August
“During the taper Patrick was definitely swimming very confidently and doing some pretty good times. Swimming the same race seemed very reasonable. During the race, however, the splits he did were faster than what we had trained for. The butterfly was right on what he needed to be. The 29.9 backstroke and 35.4 breaststroke were absolutely unreal. We had trained to for 30-mids in backstroke and 36 in breaststroke. The freestyle was the only let down of the race, being the only split that was slower than his race at Pan AMs by about half a second. We tried to improve that freestyle in Finals and it was even more obvious in that race how crucial a good closing leg is. Patrick swam in between Will Licon (2019 US PAN AM Games Gold medallist in the 200 IM) and Caeleb Dressel (2016 Olympic Gold medallist,2019 50 metre freestyle World Champion) in the B final and was ahead of Dressel and right behind Licon at the 150. Dressel’s monster freestyle leg almost won him the race, touching only 0.01 behind Licon. Patrick touched two seconds after them despite being “in the race” at the 150. To be fair, Patrick’s freestyle was a bit faster than the morning but he wasn’t under 30 seconds like he was at Pan AMs. Considering how much of the other splits he improved from Pan AMs, he could’ve been 29 low or maybe even 28 high. Had he done that then he could’ve even been 2:00“.
Record Comparison
PAN AM Games
US Open
Butterfly
26.63
26.11
Backstroke
30.59
29.90
Breaststroke
36.49
35.47
Freestyle
29.62
30.14
Total Time
2:03.33
2:01.62
Jordy also spoke about the way forward
“Regardless of all these hypotheticals, I was beyond ecstatic with the result. Another giant time drop so close to the last one is a huge confidence booster and a great sign for the coming months. There’s still about 6 months to go before the Olympic qualification window is closed. Six months to work on the back-half and make sure he can race the likes of Dressel and Licon until the end! I believe six months is more than enough time to make another 200 IM improvement and even challenge the A standard. He’ll definitely be challenging the B standards in both Backstrokes, as well. Those events were a little off this meet but the mission was a success. We came here to get a B cut and he was well beneath it”.
Andrew Phillips
Photo courtesy of elitesportsphyschology.com
The CARIFTA region has enjoyed success in this event. In 1984 Jamaican Andrew Phillips became the first person to make the Olympic final placing sixth in a then national record time of 2:05.60.
Bradley Ally
Photo courtesy of
panamerican world
In 2008 in Beijing China Bradley Ally of Barbados was just .10 outside the Olympic Final with a semi-final effort of 1:59.53 finishing ninth overall. He had set the CARIFTA region’s fastest time ever with a swim of 1:58.57.
George Bovell III
Photo courtesy of theunbreakablebody.com
The crowning moment for this event was the Athens Bronze medal swim by Bovell in a time of 1:58.80.
The region is looking forward to seeing what the next few months will hold for Patrick as he looks to add to the Aruban and CARIFTA legacy at the Olympics.
drafting the caribbean 