The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Grand Bahama Lucayans, behind the top performance from Marvin Johnson, came and conquered the swimming competition at the sixth Bahamas Games.

With a strong showing from day one on Friday to the finale on Sunday, the Lucayans surged out front and held on for an impressive victory at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex with a total of 1,697 points ahead of arch rivals New Providence Buccaneers, who had to settle for second with 1,484.

The Arawaks from Columbus Isles settled for third with 906.50, followed by the Andros Chickcharnies with 863; Long Island Sheep Runners with 580; Exuma & Rugged Island Navigators with 503.50; MICAL Flamingoes with 261.50; Eleuthera Adventurers with 127.50; Abaco Survivors with 38 and Bimini Marlins with 28.

Grand Bahama also dominated the medal count with 62 gold, 38 silver and 31 bronze for a total of 131. New Providence had 30 gold, 48 silver and 34 bronze for their total of 112. The Arawaks got 15 gold, nine silver and 26 bronze for 50.

Long Island picked up night gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze for 30; Bimini had three gold; MICAL had two gold, four silver and two bronze for eight; Exum and Ragged Island had one gold, five silver and nine bronze for 15 and Eleuthera had one bronze,

Eva Russell, the head coach of the Lucayans, said she couldn’t be prouder of the team from Grand Bahama.

“We came together and displayed the quality of the team from Grand Bahama,” she said. “So I’m very proud of the way they competed together. We just came out of the Nationals and they were still able to produce some quality performances.”

Russell said the 40-member team from Grand Bahama “rocked the house,”

One of their stars was Marvin Johnson, who carted off the boys’ most outstanding swimming performance of the meet, based on points accumulated. He scored a total of 73 points to nip New Providence’s Trace Russell and Columbus Isles’ David Singh, who both had 71 points.

“It’s good. Being able to represent Grand Bahama is a little more special because it’s my hometown,” said Johnson. “I usually represent the Bahamas, but to actually represent Grand Bahama is a lot of fun.”

Johnson, a 17-year-old attending McCallie Boarding School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, said he didn’t know that he was in contention for the award. He said he simply wanted to go out and score as many points as he could for the Lucayans. The award was the icing on the cake.

“There were guys whom I competed in on the national tram, so it was a lot of fun competing against them as we represented the different islands,” he said. “It was some stiff competition and I had a lot of fun competing in my first Bahamas Games.”

Also making her debut in the games, which returns after a 21-year hiatus, was DNDN McKenzie, who won the girls most outstanding award with 67 points. She also beat out a strong field that saw her Buccaneers’ team-mates Taylen Nicholls and Trinity Pratt finish with 63 and 61 points respectively.

“I feel so honored. I’m surprised I even got this. I was surprised,” said McKenzie, a 12-year-old student preparing for grade eight at St Anne’s School. “I was going to walk out and then I heard my name. I’m so happy.

“Everybody told them that I got this award. I was so shocked.”

McKenzie, however, said she was delighted to compete in her first Bahamas Games as she went all out with her performances, lowering her personal best times in some of the events she competed in.

Although her performance, along with that of Nicholls and Pratt to propel Grand Bahama over the top, coach Travano McPhee said he felt Team New Providence gave it their best shot.

“I think the draft was a little more relaxed this year, which didn’t benefit New Providence too much,” Mcphee said. “A lot of swimmers from New Providence took advantage of the opportunity to compete for another island.

“But it was good competition. Congratulations to Grand Bahama. They had a full tram. This time of the year, the swimmers are now in off season after the nationals, so it was good to see how well they performed in the meet.”

McPhee, who swam in the last games in 2001 and is now coaching with his daughter competing, said it was good to see the games back. He noted that a lot of the swimmers were asking a lot of questions about the meet. He said he just hopes that it can continue so the swimmers can have another major national event to compete in.

Bahamas Aquatics president Algernon Cargill said they ensured that the meet was well organized and on time.

“While we take nothing away from Team Grand Bahama because they brought some quality performers to the meet, I was happy to see Nigel Forbes turned in some best swims, which showed that the swimmers were serious about competing in the games.”

The games also served as a qualifier for the 2024 CARIFTA Games that will be hosted at the same venue during the Easter holiday weekend. Swimmers got their first chance to attain the standards.

Cargill, however, noted that Bahamas Aquatics will now swift its attention to the 20th World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan from July 14-30 where a four-member team that include Lamar Taylor, Davante Carey, Rhanishka Gibbs and Zaylie-Elizabeth Thompson will represent the Bahamas, followed by the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile from October 20 to November 7.