Despite travel issues, Cayman Islands swimmers excelled at the CCCAN Championships, amassing medals and records at the event in Monterrey, Mexico.
“The swimmers performed great as a team,” national coach Darren Mew told the Compass. “They overcame some challenges including a cancelled flight, a night in the airport, [and] severe weather warning leading to 36 hours in the hotel due to government restrictions.”
The team of Harper Barrowman, Riley Watson, James Allison, Will Sellars, Jordan Lisle and Lennox Turnham-Wheatley returned from the competition with 10 medals, including four gold.
Allison swam an impressive 1:50.99 in the 200-metre freestyle to win gold, while setting a new CCCAN record, smashing Colombian Juan Morales’ time of 1:51.90 – set in 2018. That same day, Sellars earned Cayman a bronze in the 1,500m free.
Prior to that, standout prospect Barrowman took first in the 800m, and Watson earned herself a third place.
On the third day of the competition, Watson returned with a calculated swim in the 100m backstroke, earning her second bronze medal, and a personal best.
The fourth day of the championships was cancelled due to severe weather caused by Tropical Storm Alberto, which prompted government officials to restrict swimmers from leaving their hotel for 36-plus hours.
“They took it all in their stride and came out and performed great on day five,” Mew said.
Allison hit the pool with another golden performance in the 100m free before Barrowman and Sellars both contributed to Cayman’s medal count with two bronzes in the 1,500m free and 400 IM, respectively.
On the final day, Allison claimed his third gold medal, in the 400m free, with a personal best, while Barrowman swam to silver in her 400m race.
“Four out of our six swimmers won medals and all six placed top eight,” Mew added. “It’s a much higher standard meet than CARIFTA so to come away with 10 medals was a good achievement.”
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