Upon returning with several medals, some of the country’s top athletes said they were “happy” about their performances at the recently concluded CCCAN swimming championships.
National swimmers Ellie Shaw, Stefano Mitchell and Ethan Stubbs-Green spoke on their star performances in a brief interview with Observer as they arrived home at the airport on Friday.
Shaw said it was a powerful and extremely proud moment for her being the first female to ever win a gold medal for Antigua and Barbuda at the regional competition.
“I feel really good and I’m proud of myself, I never thought I had the speed to do it but when I went in the water I was confident enough and my speed just came to me and I just went for it,” Shaw said.
She now holds the country’s national record in the 100 meters breaststroke with a time of 1:16.49 (one minute, 16.49 seconds).
Former national Sportsman of the Year Stefano Mitchell shared similar sentiments to Shaw.
“I feel really, really good. Bringing home silverware for Antigua and Barbuda was the plan and being the first to get a gold medal for the 18 and over category and making history was something special,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell came back with first, second and fourth place finishes in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, and 200m freestyle respectively.
Meanwhile, Carifta gold medallist Ethan Stubbs-Green said he was happy to put the twin island nation on the map.
Stubbs-Green brought home a silver medal in the 200m butterfly and set an age group record in the 100m freestyle in the 13-14 age group.
The swimmers described the environment at the meet as fun, lively and exciting.
After their stellar performance at the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Confederation event, Mitchell and Stubbs-Green’s focus is now geared towards the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, which start on July 28.