Tuesday, 5th November 2024

Grenada announces 12-member team for 37th CARIFTA Swimming Championships

Monday, 25th March 2024

Swimmers practicing during training sessions in Grenada (PC - Facebook)

The Grenada Swimming Association have announced the twelve member team which will be representing the nation in the XXXVII CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.

This year will be the thirty-seventh CARIFTA Swimming Championships. The competitions will be held at the Betty Kelly- Kenning Aquatic Centre in Nassau, The Bahamas.

The Grenadian team comprises eight females and four males, who will be accompanied by Coach Gerson Escobar, team manager Neil Francis, and chaperones Ruth Collymore and Nigel Gresham. This year, being an Olympic year, the competition will accommodate athletes who are eighteen years old and over, as well as those who wish to use the meet as an opportunity for Olympic qualification. Such athletes, however, will not be earning points towards their teams but are likely to gain medals. The Pool swimming competitions begin with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, March 29, at 2:00 p.m. Competition days are from Saturday, March 30, to Tuesday, April 2.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, April 3, the 5k Open water competition will be held in which Tilly Collymore and her brother, Jacob Collymore, will be also competitors.

While announcing the team, the Association said, "Great performances are expected from each competitor on the team; the majority of them have, on several occasions, competed at World championships and/or other regional and international meets. Those who have not yet competed at the international level have at least competed on the national team in regional competitions."

This year's CARIFTA team welcomes just two first-timers, Jacob Collymore and Eliza Rose Benjamin.

The athletes have been having ongoing training sessions, which have led to their CARIFTA qualification. More so, they have been training rigorously in preparation for the upcoming championships.

The team, as announced by the Grenada Swimming Association, is as follows:

Females: Anaika Otway Gabrielle Hyson Sara Dowden Tilly Collymore Zeia Ollivierre Kristin Gresham Eliza Rose Benjamin Nataly Escobar Males: Jenebi Benoit Zackary Gresham Jacob Collymore Jaaziel Francis