Record-breaking weekend for swimming
- competition continues next week
Stabroek News
November 28, 2006
The Roberts brothers, Yannick and Niall, broke four national records while Noelle Smith broke her earlier record at the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association annual meet over the weekend. Yannick clocked a time of 9:58.04 in the boys' 11-99, 800 metres freestyle erasing Ronald Ying's 2000 time of 11:24.19. He also broke the record he set earlier this year in the 200 individual medley clocking 2:23.80 over his previous time of 2:24.16.
Niall also notched up the boys' 13-14 years 200-metre individual medley with a time of 23:32.00, shaving half a second off his own record set last July. He also broke his own record in the 50 metre butterfly with a time of 27.54 over an earlier time of 28.42. The Roberts brothers were among several swim speedsters from the Dorado Speed Swim Club who broke records during the first half of the meet at the Castellani Swimming Pool. Smith, Henk Lowe and Asanti Mickle also represented the club.
Smith became the first female swimmer in the 11-12 age-group to compete in the 1500 metre freestyle. She clocked a time of 23:54.07. Smith finished the 60 laps in the 25-metre length pool behind Henk Lowe, who set a new record for the 13-14 boys, and finished six laps ahead of Stephen Soares. She also broke her own 50 metre butterfly record, beating the 13-14 age group swimmer in the process. Smith clocked a time of 35.64 over her earlier time of 36.89.
Mickle beat Jacqueline Cadogan's 1999 girls' 15-19 record of 1:32.68 in 100 metre breaststroke with a new time of 1:31.36. She also equalled her record in the 50 metres butterfly with 33:75. Lowe wiped out Ricardo Adams's 2000 time of 23:16.85 by clocking 21:02.05.
The Orca Speed Swim Club swimmers Jamaal Sobers and Earlando McRae also broke records over the weekend. Sobers broke Ying's 2000 record in the 1500 metre freestyle in the boys' 15-19 category. His new time was more than three minutes faster than the previous best time of 22:32.91. McRae pipped his previous record in the 50 metre butterfly in the 15-19 category with a new time of 26.33. The competition continues next weekend.