Caymanian athletes had a breakthrough year in 2022, amassing gold medals, breaking records and even being crowned the best in the world. The noteworthy performances spanned a variety of disciplines including swimming, golf, bodybuilding and track and field, resulting in a sporting year that will not soon be forgotten for these world-beating athletes from a tiny island in the Caribbean.
Jordan Crooks becomes 50m free world champion
Without a doubt, swimmer Jordan Crooks has had the most successful 2022 of any Caymanian athlete. The 20-year-old swimming sensation won an historic gold medal for Cayman at the 16th FINA World Swimming Championships in Melbourne, Australia in December to top off a record-breaking year.
His gold medal came after he won the 50-metre freestyle event in 20.46 seconds, beating Britain’s Benjamin Proud (20.49) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter (20.72) to become Cayman’s first world champion in any sport and the fastest swimmer in the world.
Prior to that, the University of Tennessee sophomore won the SEC title in the 50-yard freestyle at the 2022 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships, clocking a record-breaking time of 18.53 seconds, besting the previous record of 18.67 seconds set by Olympian Caeleb Dressel in 2015.
Caymanian golfer’s stellar year
At the beginning of the year, Aaron Jarvis solidified his place as the best current golfer from the Cayman Islands.
He proved that in January when he became the first Caymanian not only to make the podium but also to win the Latin America Amateur Championship.
In April, based on that win, he then became the first golfer from Cayman to compete in the US Masters where he finished at 155, 11 over par. Jarvis, 20, continued to make a name for himself in the golfing world when he competed in the Open Championship, placing higher than the legendary Tiger Woods and claiming a medal as the second-best amateur golfer of the tournament.
Inaugural Caribbean Games gold
Hurdler Rasheem Brown took full advantage of his opportunity to become the first Caribbean Games 110 metre gold medallist. The inaugural Caribbean Games, which were held in Guadeloupe in July, featured Brown winning the hurdle sprint in a time of 13.72 seconds, and setting a new meet record.
Kyra Rabess, along with James Allison, Corey Frederick-Westerborg and Alison Jackson, also took gold at the inaugural games. The four swimmers teamed up for the 4x100m mixed free, finishing in a time of 3:46.45 to become the first winners of that event.
Historic plate at Commonwealth Games
In August, the Cayman Islands claimed silverware in squash at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. It was the first time a Caymanian player had ever medalled at those Games.
After dropping their first-round match to Malta, Cayman squash players Julian Jervis and Cameron Stafford dominated their way to winning an historic medal in the doubles plate final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in August.
Prior to winning gold in the plate final, Jervis, 24, and Stafford, 30, blew through their opposition, with 2-0 wins against Ghana in the quarter-finals and Papua New Guinea in the semi-finals.
Cayman tops bodybuilding world stage
For Cayman bodybuilder Robert Thompson Jr., it was all about getting back to his winning ways internationally. In November, he captured his second Pro Card in San Pedro, California.
He won the International Amateur Open Men’s Bodybuilding Heavyweight trophy during the WNBF 2022 Kaged Amateur and Pro World Championships.
Not only did he take the heavyweight division, but he also went on to claim the overall title against all the other divisional winners.
Webster wins gold at British Open
In July, Caymanian Charlotte Webster sailed her way to a gold medal at the UK ILCA British Open and Nationals, in Hayling Island, England.
Her victory in the U19 Female International Laser Class Association 6 (ILCA 6) marked the second consecutive year that she made the podium at the British nationals, coming after her silver at the same event last year, in the ILCA 4.7 class.
The 18-year-old’s win followed four days of races to qualify. The eighth generation Caymanian beat a stiff competitive field in her age group, including Team GB’s top U19 competitor.
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