Gold medals for SVG swimmer at Central Region Championships 2018

Fourteen-year-old swimmer Alexander “Alex” Joachim was an outstanding performer when he competed at the 2018 Central Region “A” Swimming Championships held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the Etobicoke Olympium, February 1 to 4.

Joachim, who swims for Black Sands Swim squad in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), represented his high school team in Canada, Oakville Aquatic swim club (OAK) in the championships, where swimmers from more than 25 clubs across central Ontario, including Toronto, came to compete.

At the championships, Joachim won gold in the 100 metre butterfly in a time of 1 minute, 2.3 seconds. This was the 5th fastest time in Canada for a 14-year-old boy for the 2017/18 season. He won gold in the 200 metre freestyle relay with the OAK team, in a time of 1 minute 46.65 seconds.

Joachim was also part of a quartet that won gold in the 200 metre medley relay, in a time of 1 minute 59.79 seconds.

The teenager also won a silver in the 100 metre breaststroke, in a time of 1 minute 13.64 seconds.

Joachim now has four official qualifying times for the Ontario provincial championships in Canada, which will be held March 1 to 4 this year. He has also qualified to swim at the Eastern Canadian Junior Championships in April.

Black Sands Swim Squad and SVG national swim coach Kyle Dougan said, “Alex continues to develop and it is great to see his continued progress in the sport. I am not surprised by Alex’s success, given his hard work, dedication and discipline. Alex has been winning since he was eight years old at the OECS level and now he shows he can be competitive with the best swimmers in the world at his age.”

Joachim will return to SVG to compete at the CGM Invitational Swimming Meet February 16 to 18. He will also represent SVG at the upcoming Carifta Swimming Championships, to be held in Jamaica, March 31 to April 3, 2018.