Several Saint Lucian swimmers excelled in what was essentially a CARIFTA warmup last weekend, with multiple medals. Henri-Christian Theobalds stood out for his qualifying performance in the 50m breaststroke, showing massive improvement on his career-best times. Swimmers from Sharks, Sea Jays and Lightning Aquatics competed in the Crédit Mutuel Meeting, hosted at the Pierre Samot Aquatics Centre in Le Lamentin, Martinique.
Although most of the Saint Lucian swimmers entered the meet without tapering, meaning they were not necessarily aiming to improve their times, Theobalds was an exception. He swam 34.99 seconds in the breaststroke preliminaries, and then laid a 34.09-second marker in the final. His time qualified him to return to the same venue over the Easter weekend, when he would compete in the boys 13-14 category.
Theobalds is one of three Sharks swimmers expected to make the CARIFTA team, which the Saint Lucia Aquatics Federation will name later this week. Also included in the 13-14 division would be Caden Calderon. In Martinique, Calderon finished just ahead of Theobalds in the 50 breast, was third in the 100 breast, and second in the 200 medley. Zaina Brathwaite also made the women’s 50 breast finals.
“The swimmers went in untampered, most of them looking to more or less acclimatise themselves,” explained Sea Jays acting president Denise Parks. She noted that for those who had already qualified, it was more of a familiarisation trip. “Some of them who already had CARIFTA times were going in to get a feel for the water, to visualise their swims, and to feel what it is to swim at that venue on a bigger stage.”
Defending high point winner in the 11-12 age group, Sapphire Parks of Sea Jays was one of those who used the meet to acclimate herself to the conditions. Her events were contested as timed finals, and in some cases, she competed against much older swimmers. She nonetheless won the 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley outright, whilst topping her age group in the 200m individual medley, 200m backstroke, and 400m freestyle.
Also for Sea Jays, Jayden Xu won the 50m and 100m backstroke for men. Tyler Dantes won the 50m and 100m backstroke 12-13 boys, was second in the 50m freestyle, and third in the 50m butterfly. Dylan Corcoran was first in the 12-13 boys 100m breaststroke, and second in the 50 breast. Noah Dorville made three finals.
From Lightning Aquatics, Jayce Daniel won the 12-13 boys’ 100m freestyle and featured in two other finals. Aaron Charles and Liam Felicien also reached the finals in their respective divisions. Aniya George and Tre Theresine each advanced to one final.
