After parading inside the Alexander Stadium for the 2022 Commonwealth Opening Ceremony, several athletes from Cayman turned in a couple of wins during day one of the event held in Birmingham, England.
Claiming the first win for Cayman was squash player Jake Kelly, 31, who made a comeback to defeat Figi’s Maika Matanatabu in a game that ended 3-2.
“It’s good representing your country,” Kelly said. “I had to pull all the tricks out, had to dig deep [because] he is a good player. I’m happy with the win.”
Fellow squash player Julian Jervis made it two wins for Cayman after a dominant performance over Ghana’s Clement Anafo. After his 3-0 victory in the round of 64, he said his focus has now switched to his next opponent.
“I’m really grateful to start off that way,” Jervis, 24, said.
“I’ll be playing Patrick Rooney in the next round, and he is number one in England. So, it’s going to be a big push for me to try and get through him. But I’m really confident in my game these days. So, we’ll see how it goes.”
Swimmer Harper Barrowman, 15, clocked a personal best time of 2:07.98 to win heat one of the 200 metres freestyle event.
Teammate Kyra Rabess, 17, also competed in the 200m free and placed sixth in her heat, clocking 2:07.67. Neither of the girls qualified for the semi-finals.
Competition for Cayman will continue later Friday night, with squash players Jace Jervis, 17, (younger brother of Julian) and Jade Pitcairn, 19, in action.
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