The Tribune

KIA-Lynn Bazard had one of the most spectacular performances in leading Team Bahamas at the second CARIFTA Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Couva, Trinidad & Tobago, over the weekend.

While The Bahamas finished third with 44 medals, including eight gold, 11 silver and 25 bronze, Bazard emerged as the Level 7 overall champion, winning gold in four of her five events at the Velodrome National Cycling Center.

Bazard, 15, has been training since she was seven.

"It was really thrilling and exciting and I was glad to partake," said Bazard, who has been training since the age of seven for representation for The Bahamas. She is an 11th grade student at Central Florida Christian Academy in Orlando, Florida. "I was really proud of my performance. I personally think that I did very well overall."

Prior to the championships, Bazard noted that she suffered from a shoulder and wrist injury, but she managed to persevere during the competition.

"My dad (Kent Bazard) is a sports physician, so he helped me with my shoulder and my wrist so that I could compete to the best of my ability," she recalled. 

Bazard said she was pleased with the team's performance, noting that overall her team-mates did very well, but there's still room for improvement.

The Bahamas trailed Trinidad & Tobago, who won with 167 medals, including 85 gold, 57 silver and 25 bronze. Jamaica came in second with 71 medals, including 31 gold, 25 silver and 15 bronze.

Bazard, along with A'Niyah Williams, Kayla Culmer, Taevia Wright, Charis Edgecombe and Maleah Miller were some of the top performers for Team Bahamas. 

To the younger and upcoming gymnasts in the country, Bazard had her own personal words of encouragement that she offered.

"There's a quote that I personally made. Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes it permanent. "So that basically means that practice is not always as perfect as you want it to be sometimes, but make sure that you understand what you are doing and apply those corrections and it will stick in the future."

Having had the second opportunity to represent The Bahamas, Bazard said she's just overjoyed and proud of making history at the championships.

"I'm really grateful for everything that the team, the coaches, the parents and all the support that everyone has given me," she summed up.

Bazard said her ultimate goal is to represent The Bahamas at the Olympic Games.