James Allison took silver in the 200-metre freestyle, in a history-making swim that earned Cayman its first-ever medal at the Youth Commonwealth Games.
Allison took to the National Aquatic Centre pool in Trinidad for his 200m free final on Sunday, 6 Aug, and finished second, clocking 1.50.97, behind hometown boy Nikoli Blackman, who came in at 1:49.94.
Jillian Crooks added to the first-day medal count for Cayman – winning bronze in her 100m backstroke in a personal best time and national record of 1.02.10. Crooks, also competed in the 50m fly, where she finished seventh in 27.67 seconds.
“Being able to step onto the pool deck with Cayman Islands on all my gear means a lot,” Crooks said.
Allison and Crooks were among 11 athletes representing Cayman at Trinbago 2023 – the official name of the Games.
The rest of the team comprises five other swimmers: Sierrah Broadbelt, who set a national record for ages 13-14 in the 50m butterfly, Harper Barrowman, Teagan Nash and Connor Macdonald, who have clocked personal bests, and Allysson Belfonte; sisters Anija and Briana Delapenha in beach volleyball; and Andrew Stone and Ty Goddard in track and field.
“I had coaches from all the big countries come up and congratulate us tonight,” said Darren Mew, Cayman’s national swim coach. “The kids have really turned some heads so far on day one and we’ve got a few more [days] to go.”
The Delapenha sisters played two beach volleyball matches on Saturday, 5 Aug, at the Black Rock Facility in Tobago.
They lost 2-0 against Mozambique, and came up short against Vanuatu in a game that ended 2-1. They returned to the court against England, losing that match 2-0. The sisters will play their final game on Monday, 7 Aug, against Rwanda.
Goddard will also be competing on Monday, after he advanced from his 100m dash preliminary race with a time of 11.40 seconds, enough to qualify him for the semifinals, scheduled for the evening.
Several swimmers will be racing on Monday including Crooks, who earned first seed in the women’s 100m free after clocking 55.36 seconds in her heats.
Stone will begin competition on Tuesday, 8 Aug. with the long jump, followed by the high jump on Wednesday.
Additional reporting by Sami Peene.
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