media_artricles :: 2015

Yorke, Martin, Baptiste add gold

The trio of Kael Yorke, USA-based Tyla Martin, and Jabari Baptiste all won gold as T&T gathered 12 medals (three gold, four silver and five bronze) of the second night of finals at the 30th Carifta Swimming Championship at the National Aquatic Centre, Wildey, Barbados on Sunday.

The haul took T&T’s two-day tally to 20 medals (eight gold, five silver and seven bronze) ahead of last night’s third night of finals and today’s final day of swimming competition of the FINA approved qualifier for the XVI FINA World Championship in Kazan, Russia.

In the 13-14 boys 50m butterfly, Yorke (25.99 seconds) led a T&T one-two finish with country-man Jeron Thompson (26.35) while Martinique’s Jordan Laventure was third in 27.58.

One event later, it was deja-vu for the T&T contingent as USA-based 2013 World Junior Championship swimmer Martin (29.03) and Amira Pilgrim (29.20) took gold and silver respectively with Bermuda’s Vanessa Esposito grabbing bronze in 29.93 in their 13-14 girls 50m butterfly final.

Baptiste picked up his first individual gold medal of the meet, and second overall in two days when he touched the wall first in the 15-17 boys 100m backstroke in 59.17 seconds, well ahead of Virgin Islands’ Matthew Mays (1:00.38 mins) and Aruban Patrick Groters (1:00.63). Another T&T swimmer, Canada-based Emil Goin was fourth in 1:02.29.

The 15-17 boys 400m medley relay quartet of Baptiste, Bradley Thomas and Goin-twins, Emil and Adrian also had to settle for silver in 4:05.48 behind Bahamas (4:05.30) with Virgin Islands third in 4:07.90.

Aqeel Joseph added a bronze medal to his silver won on Saturday when he placed third in the 11-12 boys 400m individual medley in 5:26.07 of Barbadian winner Nkosi Dunwoody who won in a new record splash of 5:08.18 bettering the 5:09.20 established by fellow ‘Bajan’ Luis Sebastien Weekes in 2013.

Emil added individual bronze in the 200m freestyle in 1:57.12 well adrift of Barbadian Alex Sobers (1:54.40) and Nico Campbell (1:54.62) and in the 15-17 boys 50m butterfly, his brother Adrian got bronze, in 25.69 just ahead of countryman, Jabari Baptiste (25.87). Suriname’s Zuhyar Pigot got gold in 25.43 and Bahamian N’Nhyn M Fernander (25.64) was second.

The combination of Ariel Cape, Amira Pilgrim, Tyla Martin and Johnnya Ferdinand clocked 4:40.86 and took bronze in the 15-17 girls 400m medley relay with Bahamas (4:35.63) and Jamaica (4:40.55), the top two finishers while the 13-14 boys 400m medley team of Thompson, Luke Gillette, Kael Yorke and Graham Chatoor also had to be contented with a third place finish in 4:19.18.

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