Heidi Stoute Claims Gold and Sets Record at 37th CARIFTA Aquatics Championships in Bahamas

Barbadian swim queen Heidi Stoute has brought Barbados its first gold medal whilst simultaneously setting a new record in the Girls 800-metre freestyle at the 37th CARIFTA Aquatics Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.

The record she broke stood for 12 years before Stoute set a new time of 9:11.81 to emphatically assert her dominance in the Girls 13-14 age group. This is Stoute’s second year in the 13-14 age group and she has shown she will be making her name known at the Betty Kelly Kenning National Aquatic Center. Isabella Mayers also joined Stoute in the 800-metre freestyle final but only managed seventh place.

Both swimmers qualified for the final through the faster of two heats based on their respective performances at the Long Course Nationals last month at the Barbados Aquatic Centre.

Victor Ashby, Jaiya Simmons and Joshua Ross also had positive starts with wins in the heats of their respective events. Ashby’s win came in the Boys 13-14 100-metre butterfly in Heat Two. Swimming from lane five Ashby clocked in at 1:00.97.

Simmons also got off the mark with a win in Heat Two of the Girls 13-14 100-metre butterfly, finishing in 1:06.46. Barbados’ third winner in the heats was Ross who won his heat in the Boys 15-17 200-metre race in 2:28.01.

Among the newcomers to the national squad, there were some notable second place finishes as well, with Mihael Sobers completing the 11-12 Boys 50-metre backstroke in 32.23 seconds. Continuing in the 11-12 age group, this time amongst the girls, Kaija Eastmond came second in her girls’ 100-metre butterfly heat in 1:12.50. Aliya Greaves, also competing in the 11-12 age group came second in the 50-metre Backstroke in 33.41. In the Girls 13-14 age group, she placed third in the 50-metre backstroke in 32.13 seconds. (DG)