Tidal Wave dominate at Torpedoes swim meet

TIDAL Wave Aquatics left with the team championship title and the bulk of individual honours when the inaugural Torpedoes Swim Club Long Course Invitation came to a close at the National Aquatic Centre, Couva yesterday.

The Macoya-based club accumulated 1,184 points, nearly double that of the runners-up Marlin SC (596.5 points). Atlantis Aquatics SC (568.5 points) placed third. Blue Dolphin SC and Point Fortin Aqua Darts rounded off the top five.

Among the stand-out performers for Tidal Wave was Anpherne Bernard, who broke the national 9-10 boys 50m breaststroke record in 37.70 seconds, beating Josiah Changar's two-year-old record by 0.39 seconds. Bernard also won the division's 50m freestyle in 30.92 seconds, the 50m backstroke in 35.95 seconds, and the 200 IM in 2:53.24. With two other runner-up and third place finishes, Bernard went on to capture the individual award in the 9-10 division with 56 points, two points ahead of unattached Christiano Rivas.

Rivas won the 100m freestyle (1:10.31), 50m butterfly (32.74), 200m freestyle (2:37.22) and finished runner-up in the 200m IM, 50m breaststroke and third in the 50 freestyle.

The event served as a qualifying event for the Carifta Championships, although qualifying times were at a premium over the weekend.

Cadell Lyons secured the only Carifta A qualifying time in the boys 15 & over 100m butterfly. The 26-year-old Point Fortin AD athlete clocked 56.27 seconds, scraping the requisite mark by 0.02 seconds.

At the end, team Tidal Wave SC, the champions, would once again celebrate their prowess on the local swim front, following from last year's National Short Course Swimming Championships, where they were also named the best overall team.

Tidal Wave's ace swimmer Kael Yorke, who did not compete over the weekend, was recently named the 2018 TT Olympic Committee Junior Sportsman of the year, following his accumulation of silverware on the club, national and international stages.

Tidal Wave also produced other top individual performers over the weekend, including Harmoni Nelson in the girls 8-and-under, winning four of her six races; Kyle Leera, who dominated the boys 8-and-under division, winning all his six races; and Joy Blackett, who took part in eight events, winning seven gold and one bronze in the 11-12 women's division.