The first day of the Rio 2016 saw a number of the CARIFTA region swimmers making their Olympic debut on the first day of action in the pool on August 6.
The first swimmer in the action was Oreoluwa Cherebin of Grenada. She created history by being the first swimmer to swim that event at the Olympics. She clocked 1:10.40 in the 100 metre butterfly to place 42nd overall. It is also the best finish for Grenada ever at the Olympic Games.
The highest placing on the opening day came from Bermuda’s Julian Fletcher. He clocked 1:02.73, just off his national record of 1:02.47. That had him ranked 40th overall. Fletcher posted the best time by a Bermudan swimmer at the Olympics as he bettered the 1:04.93 done by Chris Flook at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Alex Sobers became only the second swimmer from Barbados to compete in the 400 metre freestyle at the Games when he clocked 3:59.97. Alex finished 44th overall in his Olympic debut. Sobers clocked his second sub 4 minute time for the second best time of his career.
Geoffrey Butler became the first swimmer from the Cayman Islands to compete in the 400 metre freestyle at the Olympics when he clocked 4:07.87 to finish 48th overall.
Dustin Tynes Bahamas National Champion men 200 metre breaststroke
National record holder Dustin Tynes of the Bahamas posted a time of 1:03.71 in the 100 metre breaststroke. That swim puts him as the fastest ever swimmer from his country in the event at the Olympics. The previous Olympic best was 1:11.65 registered by Bruce Knowles at the 1972 Munich Games.
Corey Ollivierre of Grenada became the highest placed male swimmer from the Spice Island after he completed the heats of the 100 metre breaststroke. Corey stopped the clock in 1:08.68 to finish 46th overall. The previously highest placed male swimmer was Omar Hughes who was 57th in the 50 metre freestyle at the 2000 Sydney Games.
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