The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Team Bahamas entered the CARIFTA Swimming Championships as the two time defending champions and target of the remainder of the field.

The 36-member team has lived up to those lofty expectations thus far and has raced out to a quick start early in competition at the 31st CARIFTA Swim Championships in Fort-de-France, Martinique.

After heading the medal count on day one, the Bahamas continued that momentum in the evening session last night.

Day two’s medal haul began with the Girls’ 15-17 200m Free as Lily Higgs took silver in 2:08.54 seconds.

The team also saw success in the Boys’ 50m Butterfly. Izaak Bastian won a silver medal in the 13-14 final with a time of 27.22 seconds while Lamar Taylor won bronze in the 11-12 final in 29.36.

In the Girls’ 100m Backstroke, the team won another pair of medals with Virginia Stamp taking bronze in 1:08.71 and Katelyn Cabral with a bronze in the 11-12 division in 1:12.50.

Peter Morley won bronze in the Boys’ 13-14 final in 1:03.53.

The Girls’ 15-17 400m Individual Medley saw the Bahamas sweep the top two spots with Margaret Higgs’ gold in 5:09.02 and Lily Higgs’ silver in 5:12.93.

Results of the six 4x100m Medley relays were unavailable up to press time last night.

On Tuesday, the team turned in a number of strong performances, including two record breaking swims.

The Bahamas finished day one with 206 total points, 19 points ahead of closest competitor Guadeloupe with 187. Host country Martinique was third with 158 and Trinidad and Tobago was fourth with 117.

The team won 11 medals on the day - six gold medals on the day, three silver and two bronze.

The Bahamas boys’ 15-17 4×100 freestyle relay team, made up of N’Nhyn Fernander, Gershwin Greene, Miller Albury and Jared Fitzgerald set a new meet record with their time of 3:33.54.

Izaak Bastian took the Boys’ 200m Breaststroke in 2:26. In the preliminary round he set a new meet record in that event in a time of 2:23.27.

The 15-17 girls also won gold in the 4×100 freestyle relay in 4:02.28. Margaret Higgs won the 15-17 Girls’ 200m breaststroke in 2:35.33, while Lilly again took silver in 2:38.54.

Fernander also captured an individual gold in the 100m Butterfly in 56.36.

Lamar Taylor won gold in the 11-12 Boys’ 50m Backstroke in 31.48, Devante Carey claimed a silver medal in the 13-14 Boys 50 Backstroke and Samuel Gibson took silver in the 13-14 Boys’ 100m Breaststroke.