After the dust settled on day one of the 23rd Goodwill Swim Meet being held at the National Aquatic Center, Liliendaal, the consistency of the Trinidadian swimmers paid off as their team led overall on points (265) with Suriname in second (214.5), Bahamas third (181), hosts Guyana in fourth (155), St Lucia fifth (63.5), Barbados sixth (41) and Grenada at the bottom with 5 points.
The standout performer for the host nation Guyana in the Boys 11-12 100 Meter Backstroke was Leon Seatonwho copped first place in a time of 1:10.49s while the Trinidadian duo of Keishawn Daniel (1:12.91s) and Sheni ST Hillaire(1:14.39s) were second and third in that order.
Some of the swimmers in action
Lian Winter continued to give a good representation of Guyana in the backstroke event as she was second in the Girls 11-12 100 Meter Backstroke with a time of 1:17.48s to finish behind Keianna Moss of the Bahamas who claimed top spot in 1:15.54s with Caitlyn Look Fong (Trinidad & Tobago) closing out the top three in 1:18.25s.
The duo of Aleka Persaud and Patrice Mahaica had Guyanese supporters out of their seats urging them on in the Girls 9-10 100 Meter Backstroke, however they could not pass Trinidad’s Jot Blackett who won that race in 1:20.04s and had to settle for second and third respectively with times of 1:21.04s and 1:22.75s.
Earlier in the Boys 15-17 50 Meter Breaststroke Trinidadian Jamie Williams clocked 31.26s to edge out Guyana’s Daniel Scott (31.78s) while his compatriot Nathaniel Pascall was third in 31.82s.
Aleka Persaud was one of the most consistent performers for the host nation as she was second in the Girls 9-10 50 Meter Breaststroke behind Bahamas’ Leylah Knowles (38.47s), Persaud finished with a time of 39.06s and Joy Blackett (T&T) third in 40.22s.
She (Persaud) maintained her fine form in the Girls 9-10 100 Meter Freestyle beating the field convincingly with a time of 1:05.78s while Amelia Rajack (T&T) was second in 1:08.39s with Joy Blackett (1:09.43s) in third.
Trinidad and Tobago are the defending champions of the Meet and are in a strong position to retain their title, however Guyana will be looking to improve immensely as they strive for a top three overall finish.
