Another Vincentian qualifies for 2017 CARIFTA Swimming Championships

A second female from St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has qualified to swim in the 2017 CARIFTA Swimming Championships.{{more}}

Mya DeFreitas, swimming in her first year of the 11-12 year division, has met the St Vincent and the Grenadines Swimming Federation’s (SVGSF) qualification requirements and will represent SVG at her first CARIFTA championships in 2017.

She will join Shne Joachim, who has already qualified for the championships.

DeFreitas achieved the qualifying time at the annual Barbados PowerAde Short Course National Championships, held from December 6 to 11, where she and Jamie Joachim represented their club, the Black Sands Swim Squad.

Both swimmers made it onto the medal podium. Jamie Joachim followed the family tradition and swam herself to two bronze medals and numerous personal best time. She swam an impressive 200m freestyle in a time of 2 minutes 58 seconds, smashing her personal best time by over 20 seconds to claim one of her two bronze medals.

Rising swimming star Mya Defreitas swam an outstanding race in the 400m freestyle, in a time of 5 minutes 17 seconds. Not only did this win Defreitas a silver medal, the time achieved qualifies her for the 2017 Carifta Swimming Championships to be held in The Bahamas.

“Both girls swam extremely well in their last competition for 2016. Jamie Joachim is proving that she has all the capabilities to match the swimming success of her older siblings and Mya Defreitas should feel extremely proud of her results. Swimming a Carifta qualifying time in her first year of the 11-12 years age group is a fantastic achievement,” their coach Kyle Dougan commented.

He also congratulated Tavonté Ford and brothers Samari and Tyrell Raguette, who represented Bequia United Swimming Club at the meet. Tavonté won eight silver and one bronze medal, while the Raguette brothers brought home one gold, two silvers and a bronze medal.