TT swimmers claim two silver at Pan Am Masters

NEARLY 2,000 swimmers from 30 countries made their way to compete at the 2018 Pan American Masters Championships hosted in Orlando, USA. Included was a small team from TT comprising eight swimmers competing in the pool, and one in the open water category.

Given the championships were held in the swimming powerhouse of the USA, and the relative ease of access to attend for eligible countries, this proved to be a highly competitive event, with 65 world records and 136 Pan American records broken. Almost exactly a year ago, in August 2017, a team of 12 qualifying swimmers from TT travelled to Europe to do battle with the world’s best at the 17th FINA Masters World Championship. The team produced very good results, with three top 10 finishes and seven finishes within the top 20.

Despite the difficult conditions with the Orlando summer heat at an indoor venue with no air conditioning, team TT made their presence known in and out of the pool with their vociferous support for their teammates as well as their performances in the races.

At the end of eight days of competition, the team came away with two silver medals, courtesy Anton Gopaulsingh in the 50 metre backstroke, and Rochelle Pierre in the 50 metre butterfly, as well as an additional 24 medals for top 10 finishes in individual and relay events, to which all team members contributed, attesting to the strength of this small team.

The team included 2017 World Masters swimmers Anton Gopaulsingh, Curtis Harper, Mosi Denoon and Rochelle Pierre, and saw the return of Adrian Mike and Raul Vieira to international competition. Foreign-based swimmers Debbie Attin-Neville and Clyde Akbar joined the team of pool swimmers, while William Carr was the sole open water competitor representing team TTO. This competition was an important stepping stone for TT Masters Swimming in the preparation for the 18th FINA Masters World Championship which will be held in Korea in August 2019.