The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT was a good opening day for the Bahamian swimmers at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Caden Wells highlighted the performances as the only competitor in an A final, while Rhanishka Gibbs and Tristan Hepburn emerged as B final champions at the Juan Pablo Duarte Aquatic Center.

Their performances set the tone for the rest of the swimming competition that will wrap up on Saturday. 

Men's 100m breaststroke

Wells, by virtue of getting in as an alternate from the 10th spot in the preliminaries, ended up in the 10th spot aswell in the A final when he clocked one minute and 05.92 seconds.

The gold was won by Puerto Rico's Xavier Ruiz in 1:00.80, Mexico's Andres Puente got the silver in 1:01.39 and Colombia's Juan Jose Giraldo got the bronze in 1:01.80.

Hepburn, the other Bahamian in the event, got in the spotlight when he came through and clinched first place in the B final in 1:05.16.

Although he finished 10th overall with sixth in his heat in 1:06.36, Wells got into the A final after one of the competitors ahead of him pulled out. Hepburn earned his B final spot in 1:06.82 for 12th overall and sixth place aswell in his heat.

Women's 100m breaststroke

Gibbs got the celebrations started for Team Bahamas when she touched the wall first in the B final in 1:14.19. She had advanced with her 11th overall spot in 1:15.88 with third in the last of three heats.

Women's 50m freestyle preliminaries

Zoe Williamson finished sixth in the B final of the women's 50m freestyle in 27.01 to place 16th overall. Earlier in the day, Williamson advanced with the 18th spot overall in 27.20 after she came in fifth in the last of the five heats.

Victoria Russell, the other Bahamian competing in the preliminaries, was 25th in 27.94 with an eighth place in heat four.. 

Women's 200m individual medley

Lelah Lewis had to settle for 10th place in the B fimal in a time of 2:40.72 of the race that consisted of the four strokes combined in order of the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.

Lewis was 20th overall in 2:39.57 as she advanced out of the preliminaries with a sixth place finish in the first of three heats.

Men's 50m freestyle preliminaries

Hepburn, the lone representative, was eighth in the last of five heats in 23.93 for 22nd place overall. He didn't advance in this event.

Hepburn, the lone representative in the men's 50m preliminaries, was eighth in the last of five heats in 23.93 for 22nd place overall. He didn't advance in this event.

Golf at the Los Corales Golf Course

Maddison Carroll, the lone Bahamian competing in the event, finished the women's individual competition in eighth place with her four-day total score of 312.

Carroll, the 16-year-old rising star, closed out yesterday's final day of competition with a 78 to add to the 83 she shot on day one on Saturday, 74 on Sunday and 78 on Monday.

A total of 10 competitors competed with Colombia getting the gold from Maria Bohorquez with 284, followed by Maria Torred Martinez from Puerto Rico with 288 for the silver and Colombia's Vanessa Gilly Lora with 294 for the bronze.