Grenada Swim Team secures three medals in CARIFTA Aquatics Championships

Grenada: The Grenada CARIFTA Swim Team returns to the island in two groups by securing three medals in Curacao on Wednesday, April 12 & Thursday, April 13, 2023, respectively.

In this regard, the Ministry of Education, Youth Sports and Culture will host a welcome home ceremony for the team on Thursday, April 13 2023. The ceremony will be brought live via the Government Information Service from 2:30 pm.

The 10-member team recorded excellent performances for Grenada in the 36th CARIFTA Aquatic Championship in Curacao over the Easter weekend, resulting in the team bringing home three medals for Grenada.

Jaaizel Francis, 11-12 male swimmer, earned Grenada’s first medal in his first appearance at CARIFTA, taking the bronze medal with a sterling performance in the 200M Breaststroke. Junior Sports Woman of the year, Anaika Otway, earned a silver medal in a nail-biting race in the 100M Breaststroke. While 15-17 Girls Division winner at the recent National Championship, Sara Dowden, dug deep to secure her bronze-medal position on the podium in the 400M Individual Medley.

While not all swimmers made it to the podium, Grenada’s overall team performance demonstrated that despite the limited facilities to train and develop their abilities, Grenada continues to produce top athletes in the discipline.

The team’s overall performance at CARIFTA was beyond commendable, with only a 10-member team, the majority of whom made their first appearance at CARIFTA; Grenada advanced into the finals in 29 events while securing top 5 positions in 10 of these events. Grenada placed in the top 10 overall in the girl’s division, and the team finished 11th overall while securing the second position in the OECS.

The Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports, and Culture is on standby at the Maurice Bishop International Airport for the arrival of the Carifta team from Nassau.

A brief welcome home ceremony will be held at the Maurice Bishop International Airport from 4 pm and can be viewed online via ( Government Information Service). Following this, the team would join their families and other well-wishers for photo opportunities at the arrival section of the airport.