Persaud, Rodrigues, Simmons stand out on final day

GASA Independence Long Course meet…

BY AKEEM GREENE

Aleka Persaud, Antonio Rodrigues and Soroya Simmons were certainly three of the standout swimmers on the final day of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) Long course Independence Swim Meet at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal.
All three swimmers powered their way to three gold meads from the respective events which they competed. Rodrigues swimming in the 15-17 category held-off the usually dominant Jamal Skeete in his victory bid.
A big test came in the 100M freestyle, as both Rodrigues and Skeete were going stride for stride on the first half of the race but after the turn, Rodrigues seemed to be the more aggressive of the two, as he slowly began creating distance between himself and Skeete to win the race in a time of 1:01.12.
Skeete finished second in 1:04.48; Andrew Jordon placed third, with his time being 1:08.37.

Rodrigues also won the 100M Butterfly in a time of 1:12.44 and the 200M Individual Medley in a time of 2:37.81.
Young Aleka Persaud was simply unstoppable in the girls 9-10 category as she distanced herself from the pack with some fast times. In the 200M Individual Medley she clocked a time of 3:05.30, while the second place finisher, Patrice Mahaica recorded a time of 3:19.34 and Antonia Dey in third with her time being 3:24.36.
Her dominance was also displayed in the 100 M freestyle outshining Mahaica once more with a 1:15.93 recorded time. Mahaica efforts saw her clocking 1:21.57 and Dey 1:23.40 for third; Persaud also took first in the 100M butterfly in a time of 1:30.38.
An intriguing battle ensued in the boys 18 and over 100M freestyle as Guyana Police Force swimmer Deon Primus gave National Swimmer Traumaine Cole a stern test. From dive-off the two swimmers seemed to be in sync with their respective strokes, as no clear leader could be identified.
It certainly was the skill and experience that gave Cole the edge, as the completion of the first 50M; Cole did the “back-flip” on the wall while Primus had to turn and touch by hand which decreased his momentum, giving Cole the lead.
However, the little lead that Cole had did not give any amount of comfort since the Police force swimmer eventually cut the lead and looked once more in control but with just 10 meters to go, he seemed to be out of gas, as Cole pipped him for the win in a time of 1:04.96.
Primus clocked 1:07.29 while third place finisher Lindore Barkoye also of the Police Force, recorded a time of 1:13.36.
The experienced Soroya Simmons also stood-out with three wins, coming from the 400M Freestyle (5:15.62), 200M Individual Medley (2:51.58) and 100M Freestyle (1:09.43).
The event was held as the selection criteria for the upcoming Goodwill games which will be held in St. Lucia in August 2016, where 40 swimmers from Guyana are expected to compete. ([email protected])