The Tribune

TEAM Bahamas started competition in the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships at the historic Palau de Jordi Swimming Complex in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday.

Vereance Burrows, a graduate student at the University of Kentucky, had the most impressive swim for Team Bahamas on their first day of competition. Burrows cemented his position as the fastest butterfly swimmer in the Caribbean when he clocked an impressive time of 23.98 seconds in his specialty event, the 50 metre butterfly.

Burrows won his heat and also eclipsed the B qualifying standard for the Games and narrowly missed the A standard of 23.96 seconds. He completed the event seeded 26th in the world and his seed time of 25.3 seconds had seeded him 40th prior to his swim.

Burrows commented that this was his fastest time without the banned FINA suits that were considered to aid buoyancy and improve speed in the water, last worn by swimmers in a FINA sanctioned competition in 2009. Burrows set his national record of 23.74 at the Rome 2009 Championships.

Matthew Lowe, a member of Towson University, was the first competitor to see action. Lowe was seeded 43rd out of 48 competitors with a seed time of 4.02.81. While Lowe swam an impressive time of 4.03.01, he did not better his seed time but finished ranked 40th at the World Championships.

Lowe was excited about his swim and he looks forward to competing in his final event, the 1,500 metre freestyle, later in the week.

McKayla Lightbourn, a Florida State junior and one of the most decorated athletes in CARIFTA swimming history, was the second swimmer to enter the water for Team Bahamas.

Lightbourn clocked 2.20.83 in the 200 individual medley (IM), slightly slower than her seed time of 2.19.96. She closed the event seeded 39th overall, an improvement over her 44th place seed position.

Arianna Vanderpool Wallace, who recently graduated from Auburn University, will compete in the 100 freestyle on Thursday and the 50 freestyle on Saturday and she is excited to enter the water and race against the best swimmers in the world at these 2013 Championships.

Vanderpool-Wallace is seeded 6th overall in her specialty event, the 50 freestyle, and 9th in the 100 freestyle.