The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Aquatics continues to produce the top junior national programme in the region and the country’s top swimmers are closing in on an opportunity to chase history with a fourth consecutive CARIFTA title.

The Bahamas’ 36-member team currently leads the points standings headed into the final day of competition today at the Barbados Aquatic Centre in Wildey, Christ Church.

The defending champions have totalled 736 points thus far, well ahead of second place Jamaica with 590.5 points. The Cayman Islands are third with 585 points. The Bahamas also has a total of 50 medals - nine gold, 17 silver and 24 bronze.

The competition on day three was highlighted by several gold medal winning performances, including a busy night for CARIFTA veteran Nigel Forbes.

Forbes took gold in the 200m Fly in 2:07.03 seconds and also won silver in the 200m Individual Medley in 2:09.92.

Caden Wells continues to emerge as a star in the 13-14 boys division.

Wells took gold in the 50m Breast in 31.22. It was his third gold medal of the meet, second individual. Team Bahamas took the top two spots atop the medal podium in the race as Aryton Moncur won silver in 31.44.

The Boys 13-14 4x200m Free Relay team also won gold in 8:31.72.

In the Girls 15-17 200m Individual Medley, Keianna Moss won gold in 2:28.56. Another 1-2 finish for Team Bahamas saw Zaylie Elizabeth Thompson win silver in 2:28.78.

Erald Thompson III also added to his individual medal haul in the Boys 15-17 division with a silver in the 50m Breast in 30.36.

On day one, The Bahamas took an early lead over the 17-team field with 224 points, ahead of second place Jamaica with 198.50 points.

In the medal count, the team won 15 medals – two golds, four silver and nine bronze. Wells won the first gold medal for The Bahamas in the 200m Breast in 2:52.15. Winning the final gold medal of the night for The Bahamas in dramatic fashion was the quartet of Wells, Donald Saunders, Zion Gibson-Darville and Caleb Ferguson. They won the gold in the 13-14 boys 4x100m relay with a time of 3:46.77.

The Bahamas then went on to win silver and bronze in the 11-12 girls 100m butterfly when Saleste Gibson clocked 1:10.49. Lelah Lewis swam 1:11.36 to take home the bronze medal.

The 15-17 Boys 100m Fly saw Forbes win the silver medal with a personal best time of 56.26 while Marvin Johnson also swam a personal best of 56.28.

The Bahamas has widened the gap on Jamaica to hold on to extend their lead at the end of the second day of competition.

They totalled 470 points while Jamaica trailed them with 392.50 points. The 77.50 points difference was an improvement from a 25.50 points difference after the first day of competition. They increased their total to 31 total medals. In addition, they have 10 silver and 17 bronze medals. The second day saw The Bahamas win 16 medals that included two golds, six silvers and eight bronze.

The two gold medals that came on day two came via relays. The 13-14 Boys set a new CARIFTA record of 4:07.96 in the 4x100 medley relay. The record-breaking quartet included Donald Saunders in the backstroke, Caden Wells in the breaststroke, Asher Johnson in the butterfly and anchoring the team home with the freestyle was Caleb Ferguson. They broke the previous record held by The Bahamas of 4:09.98 set back in 2017 edition of the Games.

The second gold of the night came in the 15-17 boys 4x100m medley relay. Jake Thomspon kicked it off for Team Bahamas in the backstroke before Erald Thompson III closed the gap. Nigel Forbes had the butterfly portion of the race before Marvin Johnson brought home the gold medal in the freestyle.

The Bahamas won the title for the first time in Savaneta, Aruba, in 2014. The 36-member team finished with a total of 736.50 points, more than 100 points ahead of the host team Aruba, who was second with 618 points. The Bahamas claimed 55 medals en route to the win, including 23 gold, 22 silver and 10 bronze.

They retained the title in Bridgetown, Barbados, the following year. The Bahamas won the meet again with a total of 756.50 points, more than 100 points ahead of the host team Barbados, who was second with 642.50 points. They claimed 54 medals en route to the win, including 29 gold, 17 silver and eight bronze.

After Guadeloupe won in 2016, The Bahamas returned atop the standings and regained the title at home with 799.5 points, followed by Guadeloupe (662). They repeated as champions in 2018 in Jamaica. The Bahamas scored 789 points, more than 100 points ahead of Guadeloupe who came second with 608 points.

In 2019, The Bahamas won their third consecutive title with a total of 889.5 points. Jamaica followed with 748 points with Trinidad and Tobago third with 676 points. They won a total of 73 medals, including 35 gold, 18 silver, and 20 bronze.