Six medals for Barbados at Carifta Aquatics

Barbados earned three gold medals and two silvers on the opening day of the XXXVIII Carifta Aquatic Championships at the National Aquatic Centre in Couva, Trinidad & Tobago.

The Bajan swimmers produced outstanding career-best performances on the first night of finals.

Kaija Eastmond starred with two podium-topping finishes in the 11-12 girls. The Pirates swimmer won the 11-12 50m backstroke in a remarkable 31.14 seconds, more than a second ahead of Jamaica’s Kai Lawson (32.34). In the 100m butterfly, Eastmond turned on the jets once again, to win in 1:07.37, more than three seconds faster than her preliminary time.

Heidi Stoute added the third gold medal, in the 15-17 girls’ 800m freestyle. She finished in 9:18.93, 14 seconds ahead of Grenada’s Tilly Collymore. Stoute teamed up with Jaiya Simmons, Toria Alleyne, and Ayoka Martin to finish second in the 15-17 girls’ 400m freestyle relay. They swam 3:58.85, narrowly behind Jamaica’s 3:58.38 for gold.

Joshua Ross contributed a fifth medal, silver in the 15-17 boys’ 200m breaststroke. He ended in 2:23.44, behind Dominic Hilton of the Cayman Islands. Theo Narain touched the wall in 32.46 seconds for bronze in the 11-12 boys’ 50m backstroke.

After the opening day, Barbados are fifth on the points table with 107 points. Defending champions The Bahamas top the table with 235.50 points. Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Cayman Islands occupy the other places in the top five. (TF)