The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas’ elite junior swimmers continue to excel on the regional level with their latest performance.

The seven-member team finished with a total of eight medals - four gold, one silver and three bronze - at the XXI Goodwill Swim Meet hosted at the Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence swimming facility in Trinidad and Tobago.

Under the theme “The Stroke in The Right Direction,” competition features the national swimming federations of Suriname, Guyana, Barbados and St Lucia.

The Bahamas was granted participation as the guests of the host nation.

Trinidad and Tobago won a total of 125 medals (45 gold, 40 silver and 40 bronze - 1,477 points), followed by Suriname with 116 medals (36 gold, 49 silver and 31 bronze - 1,325.50 points), Barbados with 60 medals (27 gold, 15 silver and 18 bronze - 821.50 points), St Lucia with 19 medals (2 gold, four silver and 13 bronze - 534.50 points), Guyana with 29 medals (seven gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze - 501.50 points) and the Bahamas completed the field with 88 points.

A most notable performance was a meet record set by Marvin Johnson in the under 8 boys 100m freestyle SC in a time of 1:08.10, eclipsing the old time of 1:08.72 secs.

The team was coached by Shirley Mireault who said the shorthanded team performed admirably as the smallest team at the event.

“The meet is very important in terms of developing, particularly for the younger athletes who are competing on a national team for the first time. Athletes at this meet are ones that have not qualified for CARIFTA, so it gives a good indication of ones we can look forward to seeing at that stage in the future,” she said. “We had many personal bests from the athletes, and we made such an impression that Guyana has already said that when they are hosts in 2017, we can expect an invitation from the hosts.”

The Goodwill Swim Meet is a developmental meet for swimmers from the participating countries who have not yet competed at higher levels of regional competition.

While goodwill and promoting the sport of swimming in these developing countries remain the goal, the competition in the pool is especially fierce. Outside the pool, the intensity continues with an atmosphere that switches between a carnival atmosphere and a soccer rivalry.

“There was very little lead up time to prepare once we received the invitation and we had several issues with passports and visas trying to get some of the athletes cleared in time. Because of that we were forced to leave several team members home, but nonetheless, it was a great performance by all of the swimmers who were able to make the trip,” Mireault said.

“We had to also present a cultural item from the Bahamas. The swimmers performed a medley of Bahamian traditional songs by dancing to them and acting out the parts.”

For the regional federations, the Goodwill Swim Meet  is seen as a stepping stone on the path towards higher levels of competition.