Bajan swimmers make mark

BARBADIAN CARIFTA and CCCAN medalists Luis-Sebastian Weekes and Jack Kirby made their mark at the 2018 TISCA Tennessee State Championships last weekend in the United States. 

Weekes set a new personal best of 1:50.22 minutes in the 200-yard individual medley in winning the gold medal for Baylor High School, the overall boys’ state champions.

Weekes was joined by Jack Kirby, Zach Althoff and Piotr Kurleto for the 200 metres medley relay and the foursome touched gold in 1:30.56 minutes.

Kirby had a backstroke split of 22.82 seconds while Weekes clocked 25.41 seconds on the breaststroke leg.

The excitement didn’t end there for coach Dan Flack and the Baylor High School team, as Kirby posted a new personal best of 44.45 in the 100-yard freestyle event to win another gold. The time was the second fastest ever by a Baylor High School swimmer in the event. 

The Baylor record is held by another Barbadian, Christian Selby, who won the 100 freestyle event at the 2014 championships in 44.76 seconds.

Kirby also won the 100 backstroke in a new personal best of 48.23 seconds, the fourth-fastest time in state’s history.

Kirby also made up the quartet for the 4×100 freestyle team which won the gold medal and set a new Tennessee High School State record of 2:59.52 minutes.

Fellow Barbadian and Pirates Swim Club teammate Hannah Gill, who is now swimming for McGill University in Montreal, also made a podium finish in her pet 800 metres freestyle event at the RSEQ University Provincial Championships in Sherbrooke, Quebec. She won the bronze medal with a time of 9:04.24 minutes.

Gill will compete at the upcoming Canadian University Championships in Toronto, from February 22 to  24. She will be among Canada’s best female swimmers, including Olympians Kylie Masse, Katerine Savard and Sandrine Mainville.

Weekes and Kirby are expected to spearhead Barbados’ team with swansong performances at this year’s CARIFTA Championships  in Jamaica from March 31 to April 4. (PR/EZS)