Caymanian Sierrah Broadbelt has earned both silver and gold at the Dubai Open Swimming Championship (long course), held 16-18 Feb.
The swim meet, which was the highest-ranking club event Broadbelt has ever competed at, as well as her first long-course (50 metre) race this season, was held at the Hamdan Sports Complex.
In addition to reaching the podium twice, Broadbelt, 15, who attends Mount Kelly boarding school in Tavistock, England, and trains under Emma Collings-Barnes, clocked personal bests and set a national record.
Broadbelt hit the pool for the 100m butterfly finals on 17 Feb., where she finished in 1:03.59 – a personal best and good enough for a silver medal. She also became the second fastest swimmer of all time from Cayman in that event, 2.15 seconds behind national record holder Jillian Crooks (1:01.44).
The following day, Broadbelt returned to the pool for the 200m fly, finishing first to take gold in 2:20 flat, for her second personal best at the event.
“200 fly is one of my main events, and I qualified as the top seed for the open A final, so there is always more pressure on you,” Broadbelt told the Compass. “I felt strong…in the race and got my turns and underwaters on target which helped me lead from start to finish. It was a fight the whole way but I managed to keep a body length ahead when I hit the wall.”
Broadbelt added, “I receive a lot of support from my fellow Caymanians and I want to thank everyone for all the messages I’ve received while I was in Dubai.”
Broadbelt will now turn her focus for the remainder of the season on continuing to improve her long-course times and honing race strategy. Her next competition is the CARIFTA Swimming Championships in The Bahamas next month.
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