By Samuel Peters
The Antiguan and Barbudan swimming team has made quite a splash at the PanAm Aquatics Age Group Swimming Championships in Puerto Rico, securing an impressive medal haul and breaking records in the first two days of competition.
Day one highlights: The championship kicked off on August 22 with a strong showing from the island nation’s young swimmers. The team clinched five medals, including two golds, one silver, and two bronzes.
Gold medallists Ellie Shaw (50m breaststroke) and Tivon Benjamin (100m freestyle) led the charge, while Aunjelique Liddie secured silver in the 100m freestyle. Alandra Dublin added to the tally with a bronze in the 50m breaststroke. The 4x50m mixed medley relay team (Benjamin, Shaw, Naeem Desouza, and Liddie) also claimed bronze.
A standout performance came from Alessandro Bazzoni, who set a new age group record in the 11-12 male 800m freestyle. The day also saw eight new personal best times achieved by various team members.
Day two highlights: The momentum continued into the second day with another impressive showing. The team secured four more medals: one gold, two individual bronzes, and one relay bronze.
Benjamin claimed gold in the 100m butterfly (15-18 age group), while Dublin and Liddie won bronze in the 200m breaststroke (15-18) and 50m backstroke respectively. The 4x100m freestyle relay team (Benjamin, Desouza, Jai Sindhi, Espriit Shaw) also secured a bronze medal in the 15-18 age group.
Two new records were set on day two: Bazzoni broke the age group record in the 400m individual medley with a time of 5:40.86, and Liddie set a new national record in the 50m backstroke, clocking in at 32.92 seconds.
The team’s success extended beyond medals, with 11 new personal best times recorded across various events. The event continued on Sunday for the final day of events.
