Video: CARIFTA Team Return With 22 Medals

[Updated] Bermuda’s swimmers have concluded competing at the 2014 CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Aruba, and are set to return home with an impressive 22 medals.

Bermuda captured 7 gold medals, 11 silver medals and 4 bronze medals along with two CARIFTA records. In addition, Emma Harvey was the age group champion in the 11-12 girls category, recording the most points of all swimmers in the division.

The island’s 14-strong swimming team consisted of Shannon Hassell, Madelyn Moore, Ashley Irby, Philip Hagen, Jesse Washington, Emma Harvey, Alex Pilgrim, Alyssa Paynter, Keagan Wooley, Brett Smith, Nicholas Brando, Jude Moseley, Ethan Daley and Isabelle Dutranoit.

A BASA spokesperson said, “We were all excited to reach the final session of the meet with 11 final swims. Ashley Irby was first up in the 400 freestyle and she continued her strong swimming in the freestyle events by bringing home the bronze. Shannon Hassell was up next against a very strong filed in her 400 and was only able to muster 7th place after a hard race.

“Jesse Washington swam a careful 400 as he knew he was up against a strong group of mid-distance swimmers and did not want to affect his chances in the 50 free that was the next event. He swam comfortably and when he felt he was out of contention he shut down the swim.

“The 50 free was next up and we had a strong slate of finalists. Ashley Irby and Emma Harvey were up first in the 11 and 12 girls. Ashley had a slow start which left her behind the field and even though her closing speed brought her close she finished in 4th place in the event.

“Emma however had a great start and continued her fast swims from the meet by taking silver medal in the event. Ethan finished his meet off in the 50 by racing to the lead at the 25 meter mark only to have to settle for 5th at the touch.

“Maddy Moore was next in the pool fresh off her National and CARIFTA record from the heats. Maddy also had a poor start which left her even with the field but her speed was too much for them to deal with, so she raced to the gold medal.

“Jesse was our last 50 freestyler and he was looking to swim a very fast time but the ‘bad start bug’ continued to bite as Jesse was left behind at the start and was not able to recover the distance he had lost, finishing in 5th position. The 50 free is an event with little room for error and shows the raw speed of the athletes.

“The last individual event of the meet was the 200 back and we had our girls primed to go. Emma Harvey was looking to put the cap on her spectacular meet with the 8th medal in 8 races. Although the gold medal winner was clearly advanced to the field, Emma was able to take the silver on the last lap of the race with a great spurt of energy at the finish.

“Next we had Maddy Moore and Shannon Hassell in the same final looking to add to our medal tally. The star of the back events from Cayman Island took the early lead with Maddy in hot pursuit while Shannon seemed to take the first 100 relaxed. Going into the 3rd 50 you could see the race shift as Shannon began to surge while the others began to fade. By the end she closed the gap on the winner but ran out of real estate to capture the silver. Maddy came close but had to settle for 4th.

“In all this was the most successful CARIFTA results we have had, finishing in 9th place overall out of 17 countries, with 20 individual medals and 2 relay medals and a total of 7 gold medals, 11 silver medals, 4 bronze medals.

“In addition we had 1 national record, 29 age group records, 2 CARIFTA records, 1 YOG’s qualifying time, 56 personal best times, while Emma Harvey was the age group champion in the 11-12 girls.”

Update 10.38pm: Bermuda’s medal winning swimming team returned home this evening, and were welcomed home by friends, family and Senator Alexis Swan.

In a statement this evening, Shadow Sports Minister Michael Weeks said, “Once again the Bermuda Swim Team has done us proud at the CARIFTA Games in Aruba. The Progressive Labour Party congratulates them on their 7 gold, 11 silver, and 4 bronze medals, and additionally the one national record, Twenty-nine age group records, 2 CARIFTA records, and 56 personal bests. We look forward to even greater success for the members of this team in the future!.”

Update April 28, 7.14pm: Minister of Community, Culture and Sports, Wayne Scott today extended his congratulations to the Bermuda Swimming Team for their medal-winning performances at the CARIFTA Games in Aruba.

Minister Scott said, “Last week Bermuda was filled with much anticipation and pride as reports from Aruba signaled a steady medal count being amassed by the Bermudian Swim team. I was elated when the final medal count came in at 22 – seven gold, 11 silver and four bronze medals.”

The Sports Minister added, “Individual and team efforts were outstanding. I am so proud of our young and super talented athletes. They have represented Bermuda in the CARIFTA Games in such fine form. I look forward to hosting members of the swim team and track and field team at a press conference scheduled for later this week.”

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