Stoute dazzles but inched out of medal at Commonwealth Youth Games

By Rawle Toney 

Barbados’ Heidi Stoute, showcased her brilliance at the seventh Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago, leaving a lasting impression despite narrowly missing out on a podium finish in the women’s 200m freestyle event where she finished fourth in the closely-contested final.

Standing out as the sole representative from Barbados to reach a final on day one of swimming, Stoute, 14,  also stood alone as the only Caribbean athlete competing for a medal in the 200m freestyle event at the National Aquatic Centre in Couva.

During the preliminary round, Stoute recorded a time of two minutes and 07.31 seconds, finishing just behind Australia’s Inez Miller, who finished with a time of 2:00.82.

Another Barbadian swimmer, Amela Mayers (2:15.78), managed to finish fifth place in the same race.

Transitioning to the final, Stoute trailed the top three swimmers for the majority of the race, however, she managed to make up some ground in the final 50 meters but ultimately fell short of securing a podium spot.

The gold medal was claimed by Miller, who swam 2:00.36, followed by Erin Little of England (2:01.58) and Mikala Bird of Australia (2:01.73).

Stoute improved her entry time when she touched the pad at 2:05.68 and secured a respectable fourth-place finish.

Meanwhile, Jaiya Simmons captured third place in Heat Three of the women’s 50m butterfly, posting 29.84 seconds, which wasn’t enough to propel her into the final round.

Likewise, Omari Sealy’s 26.09 seconds in the men’s 50m butterfly fell short of securing a spot in the final.

In the women’s 200m breaststroke, Adara Stoddard completed her heat in 2:44.23, resulting in a fifth-place finish in Heat One. She did not progress to the next stage.

Amani Millar competed in the men’s 200m freestyle and finished in a time of 2:08.18, which earned him fifth place. He will not proceed to the next round.

The Bajan swimmers will return to the pool in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago, later this evening for more action.