Swimmer Lila Higgo, one of several Caymanian athletes still trying to make the cut for the Olympic team, recently edged closer to an eligible time for Paris after a record-breaking performance at the Canadian Olympic Trials in Toronto.
Higgo, a CARIFTA standout, clocked three national records in the 100-metre backstroke, 200m individual medley and the 100m breaststroke, essentially establishing herself as one of Cayman’s best female swimmers to ever hit the pool.
The soon-to-be freshman at the University of Michigan powered through the 100m back, finishing in a time of 1:01.92 – a new national record – bettering the previous time of 1:02.10, set by Jillian Crooks at the Commonwealth Youth Games.
Higgo’s backstroke time was 1.63 seconds off a qualifying mark for the 2024 Olympics.
The formidable young champion wasn’t done, however. Higgo snatched another Cayman senior record, by obliterating Sarah Jackson’s 100m breaststroke finish of 1:20.17 by clocking 1:13.34.
She capped off her impressive outing at the trails in the 200m IM, where Higgo’s time of 2:20.38 – smashing the long-standing national record of 2:22.59 set by Lara Butler in 2016.
Meanwhile, fellow Caymanian Jillian Crooks is trying to make her second Olympic team after competing at the Tokyo Games. Last year, she notably posted a time of 25.66 seconds in the 50m free at the World Championships – .84 seconds off a B-cut Olympic time (24.82).
Higgo and Crooks, along with several other swimmers from Cayman trying to make it to Paris, have until 23 June to qualify.
The unofficial Cayman Islands team for the Olympics currently comprises two athletes – swimmer Jordan Crooks and sailor Charlotte Webster.
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