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 ten 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 meter 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 metre 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, Stefano 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. Stefano’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. He said, “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.”
He added, “We brought home four medals, swam in ten 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 7 new national and age group records set.”
Among the National Records (NR) and National Age Group Records (NAGR) that were set were: Samantha Roberts, 100 free style (NAGR – 1:01.34) in the girls 18 and over category. Olivia Fuller, 200 metre individual medley (NAGR & NR – 2:35:31) in the Girls 15 – 17. Stefano Mitchell 50 metre freestyle (NAGR & NR 23.53) and 100 metre freestyle (NAGR – 58:90) in the Men’s 18+. Noah Mascoll Gomes 400 metre freestyle (NAGR & NR – 4.06.56) and 50 metre backstroke (NAGR – 28:90) in the Men’s 18+.
The CCCAN championship is a long course (i.e. 50 metre) 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, 2019.
Antigua and Barbuda’s team comprised of Tivon Benjamin (Boys 11-12), Hailey Derrick (Girls 13 -14), Olivia Fuller (Girls 15 – 17), Diallo Marshall, Lleyton Martin, and Jadon Wuilliez (Boys 15 – 17),
Samantha Roberts (Girls 18+), and Daryl Appleton, Noah Mascoll Gomes and Stefano Mitchell (Boys 18+). Coach for the team is Nelson Molina Fojo.
Also representing Antigua and Barbuda were technical officials Vernon Blackman, Denise Jarvis and Emma Martin.
Emma Martin, who is also the Technical Director of the Antigua and Barbuda Swimming
Federation (ABSF), joined in the chorus of praises for the national swimmers, saying, “As an official, I get one of the best views of the event at poolside and I was extremely impressed by our team. You could
feel their energy every time they competed. It made me proud to witness their performances and to be part of Team Antigua and Barbuda.”
President of the ABSF, Dr Derek Marshall, who travelled with the team, congratulated the
athletes for their performance, stating, “Antigua and Barbuda’s national swimmers made the national proud, once again. With only 10 athletes we competed against the likes of Mexico, with over 80 swimmers, and performed very well. All of our athletes can be proud of their performances and achievements at CCCAN. These young men and women represented the country well and they are deserving of our praise. Congratulations to each and every one of them!”
President Marshall also took time to thank the technical officials, saying, “Antigua and Barbuda was well-represented at pool-side, as well. Our technical officials stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the top officials of the region and they are to be commended for a job well done.”
Continue to follow the progress of the national team this summer as they participate in the FINA World Championship in South Korea, the Pan Am Games in Peru and the FINA Junior World Championship in Hungary.
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Congrats to our swimmers for once again having shown the region that Antigua is a force to be recon with. I do wonder how come our girls have not been able to bring home one medal.
It is time for us to have a 50 meter Olympic Pool so that we can one day host these types of sporting events.
Congratulations to all the athletes/swimmers… Job well done..
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