The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

EVEN though they are very competitive with each other in the swimming pool, Margaret Albury Higgs and Lillian Higgs would be the first to tell you that there is nothing that stands in the way of the love and respect that they share with each other as sisters.

"We swim the same events so it's very cool to swim next to someone you know," said Albury, the older but shorter of the siblings, as she's affectionately called.

"We provide competition with each other. But no matter who wins, there is no hard feelings. We love racing against each other and it has been a fun experience for both of us."

Once they're done, Albury admits that they leave their performances behind at the pool and rarely ever dwell on who has the upper hand on who in their respective events.

"It depends on the season and it depends on the event for us to take a look at who did what," she reflected. "Right now, I have the edge in the 100 and 200-metre breaststrokes, but she (Lilly) has the edge in the 50."

If there's anything that they both enjoy is coming home and getting a chance to train and hang out together, considering that they are off to college and hardly get to meet up in the United States.

Albury is heading into her senior year at the University of South Carolina. When she's done, she intends to prepare for a professional career and hopefully a shot at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

The duo will represent the Bahamas at the Pan American Games, scheduled for July 26 to August 11 in Lima, Peru and they are both eager to display their talent at their second senior international meet, although they have participated at the CARIFTA Games as juniors.

"We have a great team going, so I'm excited. I've never been to Pan Am, so I'm looking forward to it," said Albury, who competed with Lilly at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Colombia last year.

"We are taking four women, so we will have a relay team. So that's something to look forward to in addition to our events."

Lilly, as she's commonly referred to, is taller but is the younger sister. She is heading into her sophomore year at the University of North Carolina. It's the first time that they have not been enrolled in the same school together, but they are both coping being apart from each other.

"It was a little different getting more of the college training and taking college classes. It's been a whole new experience to get used to doing," she said. "I enjoyed my first year. It was a plus for me."

There's no better feeling for Lilly than to have Magaret Albury to rely on for any pointers or advice on how to cope with college life. "We swim the same strokes, so it's always been interesting for us," she stated.

"It's never really any hard feelings because we always want each other to do their best, but there's certainly some added competition when we race against each other.

"Having some bragging rights to say that you won is fun sometimes, but we don't have any hard feelings no matter who wins. We still hang (with) each other and congratulate the other for their performances."

Just to set the record straight, Lilly Higgs admits that she normally controls the 50m breast, while Margaret Albury is more dominant in the 200m breast. As for the 100m breast, they have been splitting the top spot in recent times.

"Maybe, in the beginning, we were concerned more about who is winning," she added. "But now that we are both in college, as elite swimmers, we now recognise that it's great to have a sister to race next to especially when we are here at home.

"We just have a lot of fun with each other and we push each other in our races and so we get to compete much better."

As sisters, Lilly Higgs said their story could inspire more siblings to stay together in sports because it is so much easier when you wake up to have "someone else in your house with the goals" to rely on.

And Margaret Albury Higgs said while each person is their own individual, they can be inspired to have someone who knows each other as siblings to "push you to achieve your goals."

The duo, sisters to a younger sister Stellar, first attended St Andrew's High School before their parents, Chris and Pleasant Higgs, enrolled them at William A Hough High School in Cornelius, North Carolina.

From there, they went on to excel for their respective colleges and are now looking to make a splash together for the Bahamas at the senior or elite level.