On the penultimate night of the 39th CARIFTA Aquatics Championships in Martinique, Team Saint Lucia earned four more medals. Sapphire Parks, who leads the medal table, added two more to her tally at the Pierre Samot Community Aquatic Centre. Antoine Destang picked up his second medal in his last competition at this level, and Maya Andrew earned her first medal in her debut.
Parks and Andrew are competing in the 11-12 girls’ category. Parks, a student at St Joseph’s Convent and a member of Seajays Legends Swim Club, won the high points trophy in that division last year, when the meet was held in Trinidad & Tobago.
On Monday night, April 6, Parks took her fourth gold medal, taking her total points to 68 as she works to defend her title in 2025. She took gold in the 200m butterfly with a time of 2:36.69 and earned silver in the 200m individual medley with 2:34.39. Andrew also earned a medal, finishing third in the 50-metre breaststroke final with a time of 37.44 seconds.
Destang, the reigning Junior Male Sports Personality of the Year in Saint Lucia, got his second medal. He touched the wall in 51.61 seconds in the 15-17 boys’ 100m freestyle for silver.
The quartet of Jayce Daniel, Tyler Dantes, Maya Andrew, and Sapphire Parks also made it to the 11-12 mixed 400m freestyle final, finishing eighth in a time of 4:52.40. Caden Calderon was fourth in the 13-14 boys’ individual medley.
Saint Lucia have 12 medals and 121 points, placing them 12th in the standings with one night of finals left. Barbados lead with 34 medals, including 16 gold, while The Bahamas have 42 medals and 15 gold.
