A team of eight Cayman swimmers finished the year strong during the four-day ASAJ Christmas Open in Kingston, Jamaica, with standout performer, 14-year-old Elijah Bain collecting six gold medals, one silver and setting a new meet record.
The delegation, led by coach Danielle ‘Danie’ Jefferies, comprising athletes from Seven Mile Swimmers and Stingray Swim Club, delivered a series of commanding performances at the National Aquatic Centre, setting personal bests and securing multiple podium finishes.
In addition to Elijah Bain, the delegation included Salvatore McFarlane Jr., Victoria Bain, Fiona Martin, Emry Vassell, Zariel McLeod, Eze Vassell and Jahmai McLeod.
Elijah Bain’s record-breaking run
In the 200m freestyle, Bain, a CARIFTA multi-medallist, overcame the former meet record with a time of 1:59.94, becoming the first person in the age 13-14 division at the Christmas Open to dip under the two-minute mark.
The achievement meant that Bain would cross the 2016 meet standard of 2:01.05 set by Nicholas Vale of Jamaica.
In his other freestyle events, Bain earned a first-place time of 55.08 seconds in the 100m and 25.23 seconds in the 50m, securing him silver.
He dominated in the butterfly events, securing three golds – 59.70 seconds in the 100m, 26.55 in the 50m and 2:22.18 in the 200m. He added another gold to his collection in the 200m backstroke with a time of 2:22.31.
More medals and improved times
Among the medallists was Emry Vassell, 10, in the boys age 9-10 division, who secured a silver medal in the 200m freestyle (2:35.29) and a bronze in the 100m freestyle (1:09.55) with a three-second improvement.
Jahmai McLeod, 14, also dominated the podium in the age 13-14 division, taking gold in the 50m breaststroke (32.57), silver in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke (2:51.06 and 1:14.07), and bronze in the 200m and 100m freestyle (2:14.38 and 59.37).
Salvatore McFarlane Jr., 10, improved on his personal records, slashing eight seconds off his 50m butterfly (46.42) and 100m breaststroke (1:51.32). He continued the momentum by carving four seconds off his 200m freestyle (3:22.72) and three off his 100m freestyle (1:29.54).
In the older age brackets, Eze Vassell, 12, dominated his personal records, dropping 40 seconds in the 400m freestyle (5:41.98) followed by 33 seconds in the 200m butterfly (2:58.97) and 16 seconds in the 200m freestyle (2:41.53).
Zariel McLeod, 12, and the 10-year-old duo of Victoria Bain and Fiona Martin competed across a gruelling schedule consisting of freestyle, backstroke and medley events. Their efforts contributed to Stingray Swim Club scoring 6 points with only two swimmers, while Seven Mile Swimmers secured eighth place overall out of 20 clubs with 148 points.
Next steps
Reflecting on the Christmas Open, Jefferies said, “The kids did an amazing job at the meet with a meet record broken, multiple podium performances and best times from all the swimmers. We don’t have an opportunity to train long course meters on the island, so this transition from short course metres to long course metres is a tough one, but [they] took it in stride and showed all the hard work they have put in throughout the year.”
Looking ahead, Jefferies added that this experience “will help them prepare for CARIFTA success”.
“The gains that they made in this meet will help carry them through the new year and I am excited for this next year of training,” she said.
