The Cayman Islands artistic swimmers were crowned champions following three days of aquatic stunts at the Pisina Benny Leito pool in Curacao.
“They truly gave their best,” Alissa Moberg, head coach of the Cayman synchro programme told the Compass.
Their best would secure a milestone achievement, capturing the first high point honour in history for Cayman in any sporting discipline of the CARIFTA franchise.
The 19 local aquatic contortionists secured 10 medals, consisting of three golds, five silvers and two bronzes. Dylan Lynee, who won gold for Cayman in the junior category along with his partner Azania Osborne on day one, told the Compass that when it was time to hit the pool, he and his team were locked in for glory.
“Even though we are friends with all the other teams, when it was time to compete, all of that went away and we were just focusing on getting that gold,” Lynee said.
He noted that his win wouldn’t have been possible without his partner, who he says is the best.
“We’ve only been duets for two years and we’ve built a really strong connection.”
In addition to winning the high point honours, Cayman’s 12-and-under team was awarded first place for their division. The youth team took second overall and the Cayman junior team placed third overall in points.
“I’m incredibly proud of the programme that we have built in Cayman,” Moberg said. “When we set our sights on CARIFTA this year, our goal was to have a strong presence in all age categories, and we absolutely achieved that.
“These athletes have had to adapt to a lot of changes in the past season, moving to the new World Aquatics rules and we were making changes to routines all the way up to competition day. But the trust of the athletes and their determination pushed them through to come out on top.”
The programme has continued to grow over the past six years under the guidance of Moberg, who was recently appointed chair of the CARIFTA Artistic Swimming Committee.
It was the first time her athletes had competed at CARIFTA since 2019. Lynee added that there had been many ups and downs but the mentoring of Moberg kept him going.
“Coach Alissa was there from the start,” he said. “She has helped me with so much. There were times where I got really stressed out and I knew I had her to talk to. I’ve learned more than just synchro from her. I’ve learned lots of life lessons.”
Moberg noted that the support from the federation, sports minister Bernie Bush, who accompanied the athletes in Curacao, and the community is felt.
She said the success at this year’s competition only serves as fuel to the fire and she is committed to continuing the growth of artistic swimming on the Island
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