… Second time-trial in February

GOODWILL Games gold medallist Leon Seaton was the only swimmer to surpass a qualifying mark at last Saturday’s CARIFTA Swimming Championships time trial, but Lian Winter and Raekwon Noel came close by the time the event concluded at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal. Seaton clocked 27.97 seconds in the Boys’ 11-12 50m freestyle, surpassing the 28.89 seconds qualifying time. It remained as the only event of the day where a qualifying mark was met.
But junior swimmers need not despair as there still remains a chance for them to qualify for the meet, which is set for the Bahamas from April 14 to 19. Last Saturday’s time trial was just the first of two that the Guyana Amateur Association will hold as officials try to put together a team for the annual event.
Several of the swimmers, would do well to go back and work on their art. Seaton was just a second above the qualifying time in the 50m butterfly where he clocked 32.22 seconds. The qualifying time for this event is 31.53 seconds.
In the 100 freestyle he’s just a second off after he touched the wall in 1:04.53s (QT: 1:03.60s).
In the Girls’ 11-12 50m butterfly Dorado’s Lian Winter swam 34.86 seconds, and that was just a few seconds behind the 32.57 seconds qualifying mark. Also just two seconds out was Raekwon Noel in the Boys’ 11-12 50m backstroke, where the qualifying time is 34.04 seconds, and he swam 36.31 seconds.
The other CARIFTA time trial is expected to take place in February. The CARIFTA Swimming Championships is an annual, age-group aquatics event for the Caribbean nations. It has been held since 1985 and is similar to the Athletics CARIFTA Games event.