Barbadian swimmer Jaiya Simmons swam her way to more success on Sunday night with a triple gold medal performance at the 35th Carifta Aquatic Championships at the Aquatic Centre.
She now takes her personal tally to six, adding to the three gold medals she won on Saturday night.
In the qualifying heats for the girls’ 11-12 50m butterfly, Simmons shattered the existing national record of 30.80 seconds set by Asa Dunwoody in 2017.
Simmons’ time of 30.69 seconds was the fastest heading into the final and she followed up by clocking 30.74 seconds to strike gold in the final.
The 12-year-old Simmons was also victorious in the 100m backstroke in 1:11.14 minutes to claim her fifth gold medal. Her third gold on Sunday came after a dominant performance in the 11-12 girls’ individual medley. Adara Stoddard also won her individual medley in the girls’ 15-17 age group.
The backstroke event for the 11-12 boys’ category was won by Cayman Islands’ Luke Higgo in 1:07.60 minutes. Barbadian Tariq Greenidge got his third medal of the meet when he claimed silver in 1:07.68 minutes.
Victor Ashby added to his silver medal on Saturday in the 11-12 boys’ 100m butterfly with gold in the 50m butterfly as he finished in 28.82 seconds.
Carifta debutant Heidi Stoute was a fierce competitor in the pool and claimed her maiden Carifta gold medal in the 11-12 girls’ 200m freestyle in an uncatchable 2:13.39 minutes.
Toria Alleyne also collected her first individual medal of the meet as she swam away with bronze after finishing in 2:21.44 minutes.
Team Barbados has so far claimed 14 individual medals while grabbing two others in the relays. Simmons and the rest of the juniors are leading the way. The 12-year-old has so far secured five individual gold medals and added another gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Victor Ashby has been another outstanding performer in the 11-12 boys’ category and currently holds individual gold and silver medals along with a gold for the 4x100m freestyle relay. (NM)
