Wilson closes CARIFTA with big splash

Zarek Wilson
Zarek Wilson

ZAREK WILSON earned two more individual gold medals, to push his personal tally to 10 (nine gold and a silver), as the swimming leg of the CARIFTA Aquatic Championships ended on Tuesday evening at the National Aquatic Centre, Kingston, Jamaica.

On the final day of action, Trinidad and Tobago claimed 11 medals – three gold, seven silver and a bronze. And at the end of the four-day competition, the TT team bagged 45 (19 gold, 19 silver and seven bronze).

The Bahamas topped the medal chart with 56 (23 gold, 22 silver and 11 bronze), while Barbados were third with 30 (14 gold, nine silver and seven bronze).

Wilson and Nikoli Blackman finished one-two for the sixth time in the Games, with Wilson winning the boys 11-12 400-metre freestyle in a record time of four minutes 27.78 seconds, with Blackman clocking 4:27.89. Both times were lower than the 4:29.92 set by Samson Boileau of Guadeloupe in 2012.

Wilson got gold in the boys 11-12 200m backstroke in 2:29.92, and he was part of the TT quartet, along with Josiah Changar, Sheni St Hillaire and Blackman, who won the boys 11-12 200m freestyle relay in 1:50.06.

Blackman also took silver in the boys 11-12 50m freestyle, in 26.12, with Changar third in 27 seconds flat. French Guiana’s Dila Nunez Green triumphed in 25.90.

Zoe Anthony placed second in the girls 11-12 400m freestyle, in 4:51.77, behind Bermuda’s Elan Daley (4:45.51). Graham Chatoor took silver in the boys 15-17 400m free in 4:06.10 behind Aruba’s Daniel Jacobs (4:05.64) while Jahmia Harley (2:28.79) was the runner-up in the girls 15-17 200m backstroke, with Barbados’ Danielle Titus (2:26.23) prevailing. The other silver medals for TT on Tuesday came in the 200m freestyle relays.

The girls 11-12 foursome of Anthony, Gabrielle Vickles, Amelia Rajack and Savannah Chee-Wah stopped the clock in 1:57.37, behind Jamaica, who set a new Games time of 1:55.47, while the combination of Kael Yorke, Aqeel Joseph, Chatoor and Jeron Thompson finished second in the boys 15-17 version in 1:38.18, trailing Bahamas’ 1:36.86.

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"Wilson closes CARIFTA with big splash"

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