Golden boy Jack Kirby delivered again as Barbados finished second in Zone 1 when the inaugural Union Americana de Natacion (UANA) Swimming Cup ended on Sunday at the Coral Springs Aquatic Centre in Florida.
Kirby won his second gold medal of the meet when he set a new Barbados record of 26.63 seconds while winning the 15-17 Boys’ 50-metre backstroke. He also landing an “A” qualifying time for the Youth Olympics.
On Saturday, Kirby, who attends Baylor University in the United States, won the first gold medal when he finished first in the 100 metres backstroke in a national record and Youth Olympics “A” qualifying time of 56.34.
The Youth Olympics are set to take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October.
Barbados earned 181.50 points to finish behind Mexico, who amassed 870 points. They were among the 22 countries participating from the Central American and Caribbean (CCCAN) zone.
Overall, Barbados placed fifth, ending the meet with seven medals – two golds, three silvers and two bronze.
Brazil were second with 532, followed by Argentina (486.50) and Colombia (202.50) at the meet which featured swimmers from Central America, South America and the Caribbean that comprise the UANA Zones 1 and 2.
Kirby missed out on another medal when he came fourth in the 100 metres freestyle in a time of 52.04 seconds.
Roan Baker was fourth in the 13-14 Boys’ 50 metres backstroke in a time of 29.44 seconds while in the same age group, McCallum Clarke came fourth in the 100 metres breaststroke in 1:10.93 minutes.
Baker (1:13.53) placed seventh in the 100 metres breaststroke while Adia Deane was seventh in the 11-12 Girls’ 50-metre butterfly in a time of 32.11.
Luis Sebastian Weekes was fourth in the 15-17 Boys’ 100 metres breaststroke in 1:07.05.
Commendable performances came from Omari Sealy, who was fifth in the 11-12 Boys’ 50-metre butterfly in a time of 29.35, and Danielle Titus, who has moved up into a higher age group this year.
Titus was seventh in the 15-17 Girls’ 50 metre backstroke in 31.53 seconds, which time broke Lee Ann Rose’s Barbados record of 31.69 seconds from 2012.
In the mixed relays, the 13-14 Barbados team came fifth while the 15-17 age group were eighth.
“We are pleased with the performance of the swimmers. Even though they would not have gained any medals, they were still able to accomplish personal bests,” said manager Andrea Titus. (EZS)
