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Thursday, July 2, 2009
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Swim's youthful base is solid By FRED STURRUP ~ NG Associate Editor ~ frederick@nasguard.com: The Bahamas Swimming Federation (BSF) concluded its 38th National Championships this past weekend on a high note. From top to bottom the potential is encouraging. Presently, the pacesetters are seniors Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, Alana Dillette, Vereance Burrows, and sisters Teisha and Alicia Lightbourne. They make up the national squad that will represent The Commonwealth of The Bahamas during the Federation Internationale de Natation Aquatics (FINA) World Championships, from July 18 - August 2 in Rome. Our nationals provided proof that in the wings, getting primed for an explosion on the senior circuit are a goodly amount of young aquatics stars. In the 15-and-over Boys Division, there is Chadeau Wilson. His female counterparts are Alicia Lightbourne and Ariel Weech. The 13-14 age category has Bria Deveaux, the younger sister of the first female Bahamian swimming Olympian Nikia Deveaux; Laura Morley is making waves in the 11-12 division; with Lilly Higgs and Peter Morley doing very well in the eight-and-under division. Then, there is Simone Sturrup, a testimony to the very young talent depth within the BSF these days. Competing in the 9-10 age category for the Swift Swimming Club, Sturrup tallied 82 points with an incredible run of six gold medals, four silver medals and a bronze, inclusive of a national record. Her versatility was evident. She won gold in the 50 meters freestyle; silver in the 50 meters backstroke; gold in the 50 meters butterfly; gold in the 50 meters breaststroke; gold in the 100 meters freestyle (national record of 1:08); silver in the 100 meters backstroke; gold in the 100 meters butterfly; gold in the 100 meters breaststroke; bronze in the 200 individual medley; silver in the 200 meters freestyle and silver in the 400 meters freestyle. This was truly a magnificent overall performance, one of the best ever, certainly in her division. Equally significant about her efforts, is the fact that she attained personal bests in each of her events. Remarkable! It is indeed a wonderful scenario, this local swimming environment. BSF President Algernon Cargill and his colleagues have a reservoir of young water athletes. Their development speaks to the BSF's excellent program. The vibrancy of the program heralds future dividends. The Bahamas has never actually broken through in the international arena in a big way. Jeremy Knowles has a bronze medal from the World University Swimming Championships and we have captured medals at the Central American and Caribbean level, but the really big international splash is yet to come. Our seniors have been serving notice however and I look for the trend to continue at the upcoming FINA Worlds. What's most impressive about the BSF today though is the quality of each division, stepping up to the seniors. In the history of local swimming, the general potential has never been this good. Not too far down the road, the Laura Morleys, the Simone Sturrups, the Clement Bowes and the Celia Campbells will likely be making their appearances on the FINA World and Olympic stages, going for glory for The Bahamas. Best wishes to them all.
Thursday, July 2, 2009 |
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