Ethan McMillan-Cole and USA-based Liam Carrington recorded individual record-breaking performances and also set a new time during the Boys 15-17 relay swim when the 39th Carifta Aquatics Championships ended at the Pierre Samot Community Aquatic Centre, Le Lamentin, Martinique, on Tuesday night. T&T swimmers tallied the most medals of all 24 participating countries, 59 medals, two more than last year.
Despite securing the most medals of all competing nations, T&T swimmers still had to settle for the third spot on the overall points table with 754.5 to finish behind the Bahamas, who claimed a record-extending eighth straight title with 795.5, just ahead of Jamaica.
Barbados ended in the fourth spot with 635.5 points, while the Cayman Islands rounded out the top five with 547.5 points in a very closely fought race for the title, making it one of the best competitions in recent years.
On the medal table, Barbados held onto their slim lead to take home 47 medals overall, which included 23 gold, 13 silver and 11 bronze medals, with the Bahamas next with 55 (21 gold, 13 silver and 21 bronze), while T&T was third with 59 medals, which consisted of 20 gold, 19 silver and 20 bronze medals, with Jamaica next with 50 (15 gold, 14 silver and 21 bronze), and the US Virgin Islands fifth with 20 medals (11 gold, six silver and three bronze).
Millan-Cole swam to gold in record style in the 13-14 Boys’ 100m breaststroke in 1 minute, 07.24 seconds, breaking Izaak Bastian’s record of 1:07.76 minutes set in 2016.
Aruban Leandro Santiesteban got silver in one minute, 10.90 seconds, and St Vincent’s Kione Deshong, bronze, in one minute, 11.70 seconds, with Kyle Leera, T&T’s other finalist, seventh in one minute, 15.39 seconds.
The 17-year-old Carrington, who attends Bolles High School in Florida and has already committed to North Carolina State University, continued his gold medal surge in the 15-17 Boys’ 50m freestyle in a sizzling 22.84 seconds, with teammate Jaden Mills securing the silver medal in 23.63 and Jamaican Lincoln Tomlinson, bronze, in 23.69.
Carrington raced his way to a second individual gold medal on the night when he captured the 200m backstroke in two minutes, 02.29 seconds, a new Carifta and national record beating the previous games’ mark of 2:04.44 minutes done in 2017 by Aruban Patrick Groters, as well as his own 2025 national mark of 2:04.44 minutes.
The Cayman Islands’ Luke Higgo took the silver in 2:08.75 minutes and his compatriot Lev Fahy (2:13.04), bronze.
In the final event of the competition, Mills swam the lead-off leg, followed by Jonathan Sambrano, Aaron Colthurst and Carrington, to bring home another gold medal in the 15-17 Boys’ 200m (4x50m) freestyle relay in one minute, 34.61 seconds, which bettered the previous top time of one minute, 34.86 seconds, set by T&T’s Nikoli Blackman, Aaron Stuart, Zarek Wilson and Johann Matamoro in 2022 in Barbados.
Jamaica was second in one minute, 36.39 seconds, and the Bahamas, third in one minute, 38 seconds flat.
Zahara Anthony swam to T&T’s first gold on the night when she won the 11-12 Girls’ 400m freestyle in four minutes, 50.93 seconds, just ahead of Barbadian Gabriella Babb, who took the second spot in four minutes, 52.82 seconds, while the Cayman Islands’ Lauren Travers got bronze in four minutes, 53.06 seconds.
Taylor Marchan added to the swim to glory in the 13-14 Girls’ 200m backstroke in two minutes, 29.50 seconds, beating Guadeloupe’s Mila Duprat (2:31.76 mins) and Martinique’s Nais Mormin (2:32.76 mins) into second and third spot, respectively.
T&T’s Marena Martinez secured a silver medal in the 13-14 Girls’ 400m freestyle in four minutes, 46.09 seconds, well adrift of champion Reagan Uszenski of the US Virgin Islands, who won in four minutes, 32.16 seconds, while Bahamian Sienna Campbell was third in four minutes, 46.31 seconds.
Anthony added a silver medal in the 50m freestyle in 28.24 seconds after being edged to the wall by Bahamian Isabella Munroe, who won in 28.22, with T&T’s other finalist, Serenity Pantin, securing the bronze in 28.45.
Anpherne Bernard added a silver medal in the 15-17 Boys’ 100m breaststroke in one minute, 06.39 seconds, to finish behind Bahamian Tristen Hepburn, who topped the field in one minute, 05.62 seconds, with Jamaica’s Kai Radcliffe securing the bronze in one minute, 06.79 seconds, just ahead of T&T’s Aaron Colthrust’s time of one minute, 07.34 seconds.
In the 13-14 Boys’ 200m freestyle relay, Nikosi Baptitse, McMillian-Cole, Kyle Leera and Xaiden Valentine combined for a silver medal splash in one minute, 43.45 seconds, to trail the Bahamas, who won in one minute, 40.77 seconds, while Martinique ended with bronze in one minute, 44.54 seconds.
Xaiden Valentine picked up a bronze medal in the 13-14 Boys’ 50m freestyle in 23.36, just ahead of countryman Nikosi Baptiste, who was fourth in 25.60, while Bahamian duo Christon Jerome (24.46 seconds) and Dexter Russell (25.20) secured gold and silver, respectively.
Another bronze medal for T&T came in the 11-12 Boys’ 100m breaststroke in one minute, 22.48 seconds, to trail Barbadian Christian Vanderpool, who won in one minute, 18.38 seconds, and runner-up Lucas Wato of Martinique, who stopped the clock in one minute, 19.59 seconds.
The 11-12 Girls’ 200m freestyle relay foursome of Pantin, Na’Zya George, Katelon Leera and Anthony combined for a time of one minute, 59.28 seconds, and the third spot, with the Bahamas taking gold in one minute, 57.81 seconds, and Jamaica, silver in one minute, 58.93 seconds.
The 11-12 Boys 200m freestyle relay team of Alexander, Khalil Brathwaite, Tylan Diaz and Julius Ennals also earned bronze in one minute, 55.48 seconds, with Barbados securing gold in one minute, 52.33 seconds, and Martinique, silver in one minute, 54.51 seconds. The action shifted to the open water event yesterday at Anses d’Arlet Coastal Area.
