Nikoli Blackman secured a spot at the Carifta Games after completing the Aquatic Sports Association of T&T (ASATT) Invitational Swimming Championships at the National Aquatic Centre in Balmain, Couva, with a victory in the boys’ 50-metre freestyle on Sunday afternoon.
However, the University of Tennessee student had a score to settle with his countryman Zachary Anthony of Indianapolis University. Anthony had not only defeated him in the 100-metre butterfly the day before but also shattered a record in the 800-metre freestyle event. This time, Blackman, the winner of multiple medals for T&T at various meets, prevailed for the top spot and the Carifta qualifying “A” standard with a time of 22.34 seconds.
Anthony also produced an “A” time to qualify for the Carifta Games in Martinique in April by touching the wall in 22.82 seconds.
Meanwhile, the trio of Zalayhar Lewis, Katelon Leera, and Zahara Anthony have consistently placed in the top three positions at the event. In the 50-metre freestyle final, Anthony surged ahead for the win in a “B-time” of 28.62 seconds, with Lewis (29.33) and Belle Adams (29.91) securing second and third, respectively in “C-times”.
Earlier, Lewis and Anthony joined four other swimmers to book their tickets for Martinique. Sapphire Parks clinched the top spot in the 100-metre backstroke in 1:11.69, achieving the lone Carifta “A” time in the field. She was followed by Anthony (1:17.18), Lewis in third (1:17.68), and Ra’el Morgan Anatol in fourth (1:18.64). Aniyah George (1:20.37) and Elissa Shipley-Thompson completed the top six finishers.
Lewis and Leera were dominant in the 100-metre breaststroke event, leading a list of four swimmers who are now Carifta-bound. Lewis claimed the top spot in 1:23.10 for the race’s only “A-time,” while Leera (1:26.80), Jayla Best (1:30.20), and Zahara Anthony (1:30.23) took the other positions.
In the boys’ 13-14 50-metre freestyle, Jacob Collymore, Nathaniel St Louis, and Shian Griffith claimed positions one, two, and three. However, in the girls’ equivalent, Amaiya Harrison proved to be a cut above the rest as she stopped the clock in a time of 28.11, earning the sole Carifta standard from a field of 24. The usually prolific Zara Persico settled for the runner-up spot in 28.15.
