Even though Cayman’s athletes have yet to add a medal to their Commonwealth Games tally, they have clocked moments of national pride, like Caymanian swimmer Harper Barrowman snagging a spot in the 800-metres finals, a first for these islands.
Barrowman became the first female from Cayman to ever qualify for a Commonwealth Games final in the pool, after swimming a new personal best time of 9:16.49 in her 1 Aug. heat.
Speaking ahead of the final, the 16-year-old swimmer expressed joy at her successful effort.
“To be able to do something like that at a level like this, it is just an amazing opportunity,” she said.
The teen finished eighth in the final at the games, which are being held in Birmingham, England.
Also hitting the pool for Cayman on 1 Aug. were Kyra Rabess, Sierrah Broadbelt, Raya Embury-Brown and James Allison, none of whom qualified for the next round in their events.
Rabess and Broadbelt both competed in the 100m freestyle event, swimming in separate heats. Broadbelt clocked a personal best of 1:00.82, while Rabess finished in 59.29.
Embury-Brown swam heat one of the 800m in a time of 9:30.75 and Allison competed in the 100m butterfly heat three, and finished at 59.21 seconds.
Sprinter Hyman tests positive for COVID
The Cayman team suffered a blow later in the week when three-time Olympian sprinter Kemar Hyman was forced to pull out of his race hours before hitting the track. Hyman tested positive for COVID ahead of the race and had to withdraw on 2 Aug.
Speaking briefly with the Cayman Compass on the decision, Hyman expressed disappointment at not being able to compete in the 100-metre race, which was the only event he had been scheduled to participate in.
“COVID sucks. But I’m happy I have no symptoms that are concerning or uncomfortable as of now. I’m taking it day by day and should be back in no time,” he told the Compass after withdrawing.
Cycling
Meanwhile on 4 Aug., Cayman cyclists Victor Magalhaes and Michael Testori took to the roads in the men’s time trials for cycling. Both men finished in the top 50.
“Spectacular ride from both athletes making us very proud! Now they are focused on the men’s road race joining teammate Nathaniel Forbes,” the Cayman Islands Olympic Committee posted on its official Facebook page.
Squash
Cayman squash players have also been making their mark in Birmingham.
In the first win of the tournament for Cayman, Jake Kelly took his match against Fiji’s Maika Matanatabu 3-2.
“It’s good representing your country,” Kelly said. “I had to pull all the tricks out, had to dig deep. He is a good player, [but] I’m happy with the win.”
Julian Jervis made it two squash wins for Cayman after a dominant performance over Ghana’s Clement Anafo.
After his 3-0 victory in the round of 64, Jervis, 24, said: “I’m really grateful to start off that way. I’ll be playing Patrick Rooney in the next round, and he is No.1 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.”
Mixed doubles teams of Marlene West and Cameron Stafford, and Jade Pitcairn and Jake Kelly took on Canada and Australia, respectively. West and Stafford beat Canada’s Nicole
Bunyan and David Baillargeon, 11-9, 11-4, making it to the next round; Pitcairn and Kelly were beaten 11-1, 11-4 by Australia’s Rachael Grinham and Zac Alexander.
Boxing
Cayman boxer Hepseba Angel took on Canadian Tammara Thibeault on 3 Aug. in a quarter-final box.
The referee stopped the boxing match two minutes and 45 seconds into the first round, awarding the win to Thibeault.
The Commonwealth Games will end on Monday with an elaborate closing ceremony.
Additional reporting by Seaford Russell Jr. in Birmingham.
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Unfortunately some events in this year’s Commonwealth Games had a low level of entries, the women’s 800m swim being one of them with a total of ten, two of them from Cayman.