The Christian Selby and Zabrina Holder show continued on Friday night at the Aquatic Centre as some vintage records were attacked in the Cave Shepherd Short Course National Swimming Championships.
Selby continued his assault on Damian Alleyne’s freestyle records and this time deposed the 400 SCM (short course) record, posting a new time of 4 minutes, 16.44 seconds, 0.22 splits of a second lower than the previous record.
He returned in the 200 SCM butterfly, this time to reckon with Nicholas Mayers’ record, reducing it to 2:25.54 from 2:27.64 posted in 1996.
In the 50 SCM breaststroke Raymond Edwards’ record became the target and this was sent to the archives with a new time of 33:99, as Selby exacted revenge on Akeem Nurse who out swam him in the Powerade Secondary Schools’ Championship in this event for the gold. Nurse was second in 35:67 and Jonathan Manning third in 36:31.
The Girls’ 13 to 14 division was again dominated by Zabrina Holder who posted two age-group and women’s open national records in the 400 SCM freestyle and in the 200 SCM butterfly events.
Veteran freestyler Natalie Crump’s 400 SCM record of 4:30.86 was laid to rest as Holder posted a new time of 4:27.77. This also replaced Lani Cabrera’s women’s open record of 4:29.56.
Amara Gibbs finished in 4:33.86 for the silver and Rebecca Clarke in 4:50.78 for the bronze.
Holder served another double in the 200 SCM butterfly when Emma Hatcher’s age group record established in 1997 became history. She stopped the clock in a new record of 2:20.34, 11 seconds lower than the previous age group record and splits lower than Marsha Watson’s open record of 2:20.76.
Holder also won the 50M breaststroke event in 38:11, erasing Lanielle Weekes’ record of 34.77.
Destiny Harding took gold in both of the events contested by the eight-and-under girls. Harding snatched the top spot from Charise Mason in the 200 SCM freestyle event, posting 2:48.07 for the gold while Mason finished 0.23 splits later in 2:48.33.
Harding claimed another victory in the 50 SCM breaststroke with a time of 46:85. Nathan James and Ajani Yarde were the top boys in these events. James won the 200SCM freestyle in 3:08.94, while Yarde won in 49:59.
After a few laps of synchronised swimming, Tiffany Titus pulled away from Hannah Gill to win the 9 to 10 Girls’ 400-metre freestyle in 4:59.51.
Damon St Prix, yet to be beaten in this meet, won the 400 SCM freestyle in 5:13.88. Luis Sebastian Weekes was in second place with 5:20.53 and the much improved Kent Mullins took the third spot in 5:21.26. In the 50 SCM backstroke St Prix was the winner again in 35:42.
In a nail-biting swim in the 400 SCM freestyle between Sariyah Sherry and Kimberley Willoughby which saw positions frequently changing, the score was finally settled by Sherry taking the gold in 4:37.01.
Jason Cummins was the gold medal winner in the 400 SCM freestyle for the 13 to 14 boys in 4:49.29, but it was Gabrielle Gunby who surged to the top in the 50 SCM breaststroke to take gold in 33:48.
