Jamaicans end CCCAN on high, cop 7 medals on final day
Jamaica’s swim team brought the curtains down on the 32nd central american and caribbean confederation swimming championship (cccan) in fine form, claiming seven medals on the final day of pool action in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Tuesday.
The Jamaicans, who only mustered one gold medal from numerous finals on Monday’s fourth day, produced much better performances on the final day, winning two gold, one silver and four bronze medals. That haul saw them ending with an overall tally of 20 medals, comprising five gold, six silver, and nine bronze medals.
Based on the quality of medals, Jamaica were in sixth position on the medal standings topped by Mexico (95), Panama (24), Dominican Republic (18), Thebahamas
(21), and Puerto Rico (22).
After a miserable fourth day where Kokolo Foster won the country’s lone medal in the girls’ 11-12 50m breaststroke, landing gold in 35.26s, the Jamaicans gave a much improved performance on the final day when contesting 20 of the 40 finals.
Zaneta Alvaranga, Nathaniel Thomas, and Gabrianna Banks gave the team a perfect start, winning a medal in their respective 50m freestyle events.
Alvaranga got the show on the road in the girls’ 13-14 event, clocking 26.86s for silver behind Puerto Rico’s Miriam Sheehan who won in 26.754s. Delaney Mizell of The Bahamas was third in 26.96s.
Thomas then left the field in his wake in the boys’ 13-14 event, winning in a blistering 24.38s, ahead of Gabriel Martinez (24.66s) of Honduras and Mexico’s Miguel Rojas Newman (24.67s).
The girls’ 15-17 50m freestyle saw Banks battling gallantly for bronze in a time of 27.13s, behind Aruba’s Elisabeth Timmer (26.92s) and Logan Watson-brown (27.10s) of Bermuda.
Like she did in the girls 11-12 50m breaststroke, Kokolo Foster also swept the 100m equivalent, winning in a time of 1:19.01, ahead of the Mexican pair of Arrieta Portillo (1:19.55) and Paola Tellez Solano (1:21.14).
Jamaica’s next medal came in the boy’s 11-12 200m backstroke where Brady Macpherson Lewison won bronze in 2:28.14. The event was won by Mexico’s Kevin Palencia Llamas in 2:24.49, ahead of Kaiser Ruiz Garcia (2:26.49) of Puerto Rico.
That performance was followed by two bronze medals in the 400m medley relays courtesy of the boys’ and girls’ 13-14 teams.
The boys’ team of Nathaniel Thomas, Jaedon Lynch, Kaheem Lozer, and Daniel Mair stooped the clock in 4:15.93, behind Mexico’s team which won in a record 4:03.66, lowering the old mark of 4:05.63 set by Venezuela in 2005. Trinidad and Tobago was second in 4:13.64.
In the girls’ event Ashley Hodge, Raine Hopkins, Sabrina Lyn, and Morgan Cogle, stayed on well for third, stopping the clock in 4:38.16. Mexico again finished tops in a record 4:31.62, lowering their previous mark of 4:34.23 also set in 2005, finishing ahead of Puerto Rico (4:34.70).