Marlins swimmer Taylor Marchan sets two records in 100-metre backstroke

MARLINS swimmer Taylor Marchan splashed to two national records in the 11 and over girls’ 100-metre backstroke on night three of the National Open Long Course Championships at the National Aquatic Centre in Couva on May 18.

Taylor, 12, swam to gold in a blistering one minute and 05.86 seconds (1:05.86) and set new national records in the 11-12 and 13-14 age groups.

Her golden swim removed Gabriela Donahue’s 2015 record of 1:06.65 in the younger age bracket and also bettered Sangeeta Puri’s 1:05.87 clocking, set over 30 years ago, in 1993, in the 13-14 division.

Club-mate Zara Persico, who also shattered a 29-year record on night one in the 11-12 girls’ 800m freestyle, finished second in 1:12.17 while Barracudas’ Kiara Goodridge stopped the clock on 1:12.20.

In the process, both swimmers achieved qualification times for the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships (CCCAN) later this year.

RWB Aquatics’ Tyla Ho A Shu also set a new national record in the 15-17 girls’ 50m breaststroke during the prelims. She clocked 33.01 seconds as the fastest qualifier, and also eclipsed her own record of 33.32, set in 2023.

In the final, Ho A Shu went on to win gold in 33.27 and dipped below the CCCAN time of 34.88.

Coming in second was Blue Lightning’s Amari Ash in 35.84 with RWB’s Anya Davis (36.80) rounding off the top three.

Another Marlins swimmer Zachary Anthony, 16, achieved CCCAN qualification in the 15-17 and 18+ boys’ 100m backstroke. He won the 11 and over event in 1:00.10, by dipping below the required qualification time of 1:00.92 in both age groups.

Team-mate Alejandro Agard was second (1:04.56), while Flying Fish’s Shiah Griffith (1:04.63) took bronze.

Ash also achieved CCCAN qualification in the 50m butterfly. Despite finishing second behind Olympian Cherelle Thompson (29.07), Ash’s time of 29.85 was faster than the CCCAN 15-17 requirement of 29.93. Marlins’ Zoe Anthony (30.26) was third.

And in event 82, Guyana’s Delroy Tyrrell of Dorado Speed Swim Club also attained CCCAN qualification in the 50m backstroke. There, he clocked 27.05 as the event’s lone participant, and dipped below the 27.90 CCCAN requirement.

And in the 11 and over boys’ 50m butterfly, three TT swimmers earned CCCAN spots. Olympian Dylan Carter won the event in 23.46, Pt Fortin Aqua Darts’ Cadell Lyons (24.45) and unattached Christian Awah (24.78) rounded off the top three respectively. All bettered the meet’s qualification time of 25.38.