The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT’S going to be a big weekend for Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace and members of the SwimMac Swim Club.

Vanderpool-Wallace and SwimMac, headed by US Olympic coach David Marsh, are in Nassau to train and compete in the Bahamas Swim Federation’s time trials for the 2015 Carifta Championships on Saturday morning at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex.

Later that night, they will be the special guest of the federation, who host their inaugural Awards Banquet at the Melia Nassau Beach Resort where Vanderpool-Wallace is expected to be honoured for her stellar performance during the 2014 season.

Two-time Olympian Vanderpool-Wallace, who turned 25 on March 4, won a silver medal at the Commonwelth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, captured a record four gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games and became the first Bahamian to reach the final at the World Short Course Championships, all last year.

Among the eight-member team here with Vanderpool-Wallace and Marsh are American Olympic swimmers Ryan Lochte and Cullen Jones. The group is being sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, who are entertaining them at Atlantis on Paradise Island where they also do some training.

Lochte, 30, won gold as a member of the US 800m free relay team and silver at 100m butterfly at the Pan Ams. He also won the 200m individuyal medley, was second in the 100m freestyle and third in the 200m backstroke at the 2014 Phillips 66 Nationals. The New York native is an eleven-time Olympic medallist (five gold, three silver, three bronze), seven of which are in an individual event.

Jones, on the other hand, qualified for the 2014 Pan Pacs roster with a third-place finish in the 50m freestyle at Phillips 66 Nationals. The 31-year-old from The Bronx, New York, won three medals at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and he took home gold as a member of the 400m medley relay team and won silver in both the 50m freestyle and 400m freestyle relay. 

Federation president Algernon Cargill said they are elated to have the SwimMac contingent in town as they help to celebrate the achievement of their team-mate, Vanderpool-Wallace at the banquet before they return to their training site in North Carolina on Monday.

“They are here to continue their training and at the same time get some times in in preparation for the World Championships later this year,” Cargill said. “At the same time, they are here to support Arianna on Saturday night at the banquet, so they bring a high profile to our swimming federation.

“We have some world class swimmers not only training but also competing at the Betty Kelly Swim Complex. We are looking forward to having them compete on Saturday morning. They want to showcase their skills before the Bahamian crowd.”

The federation’s time trials will begin on Friday at 6pm and continue on Saturday with two sessions. Vanderpool-Wallace said they know it’s going to be hectic on Saturday but that cannot be avoided because the federation have to select the team by Sunday for the Carifta Championships.

The Bahamas are the 2014 champions and Cargill is confident that they stand a good chance of defending their title in Barbados over the Easter weekend.

“We wanted to have these international swimmers at our event and this is the only time that we can get them to come down,” Cargill said.

As for Carifta, once the team is selected on Sunday Cargill said they anticipate repeating as champions as the local swimmers will be more inspired having the host of international stars, including Vanderpool-Wallace, Lochte and Jones in town.

“We are going to select the very best team available,” Cargill projected. “Fortunately for us, most of the team is returning from last year. So hopefully if all of the swimmers are in the same shape and we expect that they will be, we should not have any problems repeating as champions.”

So far, BTC will be a major sponsor for the Carifta Swim Team, along with Subway Bahamas. Bahamas First, Royal Star Alliance and CIBC First Caribbean are also making significant contributions this year.

The banquet, according to Cargill, is just about sold out with at least 400 people attending the event in the ballroom of the Melia. Deputy Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis and his wife, Ann Marie, along with the Olympians and coach Marsh, are all special guests of the federation at the banquet.

All local swimmers will be honoured for their performances on the local and international scene as the federaion celebrates a banner 2014.