The sport of swimming in Cayman has never lacked talented athletes, but only a select few have been able to compete at an elite level in the pool and reach the pinnacle in their discipline.
But now, a young prospect has emerged.
Eli Bain, 14, turned heads at the recent national championships where Jacky Pellerin, Cayman Islands Aquatic Sports Association technical director, recognised him as a “natural talent”, noting that he sees similarities to Olympic finalist Jordan Crooks.
Crooks and the Fraser brothers, Shaune and Brett, are undoubtedly the nation’s most accomplished swimmers, and while there are many promising up-and-comers among women, Pellerin sees something special in Bain among male athletes.
“He is aquatic, he has the feeling of the water, exactly like Jordan,” Pellerin told the Compass. “He has really good buoyancy, he swims without effort … he is young, he needs to learn, but he is really, really talented.”
Bain has only been training seriously for the last year, but has already overtaken many of those who preceded him.
He competed in eight events at the championships, setting personal best times in each, as well as placing either first or second. He credits his recent rise to his dedication.
“This has been a learning experience for me,” Bain said, after winning the 50-metre freestyle in a personal best time of 25.24 seconds. “I get to stand up on the podium in the first place, it’s something that I wanted to do … it’s been great and I’m really happy.”
He added, “I remember two years ago I didn’t do the greatest. I didn’t place in any of my events, but I remember my dad telling me it’s just consistency, and I just worked on that.”
When asked how it feels to be compared to Cayman’s superstar Crooks, Bain responded, “It’s an honour. But at the same time, we are all our own person and we all just need to work, just as hard as he did.”
This is just the start for him, he said, adding that he expects one day he will be representing Cayman at the World Championships and Olympic Games.
