The national swim team recently returned from the 22nd Central American and Caribbean Amateur Swimming Confederation (CCCAN) swim meet with four medals in hand after participating in 10 final events.
Noah Mascoll-Gomes, swimming in the 18 and over age group, delivered the first medal for the Antigua and Barbuda team, securing a bronze in the 200-metre freestyle with a time of 1:55:61.
He followed that with a national record performance and a silver medal in the 400 metres freestyle in a time of 4:06:58.
Also making podium appearances were Jadon Wuilliez and Stefano Mitchell.
Jadon – already the age group and national record holder in the 50 metres breaststroke – swam an impressive 30:28 in the finals after swimming 29:84 in the preliminaries to bring home a bronze medal in that event.
Meanwhile, Mitchell – Antigua and Barbuda’s current Sportsman of the Year – brought home a bronze medal in the exciting finals of the men’s 18-and-over 50-metre freestyle. Mitchell’s time of 23:48 also gave him the national and age group records for that event.
The national team was led by Coach Nelson Molina Fojo who proclaimed the meet a success and praised all of the swimmers for their hard work.
“This was a very good meet for Antigua and Barbuda. We are a small team and we do not practice in a 50-metre pool. However, we have demonstrated that our swimmers are competitive with the best in the region. I would like to congratulate all of the athletes for the fantastic effort and the results that they achieved.
“We brought home four medals, swam in 10 finals and had eight alternates. Every swimmer had at least one personal best performance, with a total of 18 among the team. Plus, we had seven new national and age group records set.”
Among the National Records (NR) and National Age Group Records (NAGR) that were set are: Samantha Roberts –100-metre free style (NAGR 1:01.34) in the girls 18 and over category.
Olivia Fuller – 200-metre individual medley (NAGR and NR 2:35:31) in the Girls 15-17; Stefano Mitchell –50-metre freestyle (NAGR and NR 23.53) and 100-metre freestyle (NAGR 58:90) in the Men’s 18-plus.
Noah Mascoll Gomes –400-metre freestyle (NAGR and NR 4.06.56) and 50-metre backstroke (NAGR 28:90) in the Men’s 18-plus.
The CCCAN championship is a long course meet and is considered the premier swimming event on the regional calendar. It is highly anticipated by all the federations across the Caribbean and Latin America. This year, over 300 swimmers competed from 28 invited federations including Mexico, Panama, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.
The meet was hosted by the Barbados Amateur Swimming Federation (BASA) and held at the Barbados Aquatic Centre from June 24th to July 2nd.
Antigua and Barbuda’s team consisted of Tivon Benjamin (Boys 11-12); Hailey Derrick (Girls 13-14); Olivia Fuller (Girls 15-17); Diallo Marshall, Lleyton Martin, Jadon Wuilliez (Boys 15 – 17); Samantha Roberts (Girls 18-plus); Daryl Appleton, Noah Mascoll Gomes and Stefano Mitchell (Boys 18-plus).
Also representing Antigua and Barbuda were technical officials Vernon Blackman, Denise Jarvis, and Emma Martin.
The national team is expected to participate in the FINA World Championship in South Korea, the Pan Am Games in Peru and the FINA Junior World Championship in Hungary.