Support us - Lyn
Swimming boss calls for more help after Carifta success
MARTIN LYN, president of the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica, said that with greater government support, the island’s swimmers can accomplish a lot more in international competitions.
Lyn was speaking to The Gleaner following the arrival of the country’s swimmers at the Norman Manley International Airport from their participation in the Carifta Swimming Championships, held in Barbados over the weekend.
Jamaica ended the regional swim meet with one of its highest medal count of 59 medals ( 22 gold, 25 silver and 12 bronze) and their biggest medal total in more than a decade, and the local aquatics boss, pointed to the 2019 Carifta Swimming champions, The Bahamas and the level of support they receive from their government.
“This is the best result in 15 years,” Lyn said. “We were second only to The Bahamas, and they are fully supported by their government. But the team that we sent down there got the most medals we have won for a long time, plus the records that were broken show that we have very good talent here.”
Lyn also congratulated and
highlighted the return of top performers such as Sabrina Lyn, Zaneta Alvaranga, Britney Williams, Emily McDonald, Giani Francis, Kokolo Foster, Nathaniel Thomas, and Leanna Wainwright.
“We had a very good meet, and coaches came to us to ask what we did different this year.
TESTAMENT TO TALENT
Lyn said: “But this signifies that the talent is here and that we are a force to be reckoned with in aquatics in the region and we hope to expand on that for the Pan Am and Olympics.”
Team manager Michael Critchlow also believes that with more support, they could do so much more.
“Swimming (locally) is getting
better. What we really need now is more help from corporate Jamaica behind us to get to the next level.
“We have a lot of Alias (Alia Atkinson) coming up, and we j ust need the help from corporate Jamaica to get there,” said Critchlow.
Lyn added that it’s time the Government put their money where its mouth is when it comes to supporting swimming.
“We need them to put their money where their mouth i s instead of just waiting for us to come home to take pictures.
Although we did receive $3 million from SDF (Sports development Foundation), and that assisted us a lot and took some pressure off the parents and the association,” Lyn said.