Bermuda’s aquatic stars turned up the heat at the XXXIX Carifta Aquatics Championships as a flurry of personal bests and clinical qualifying performances secured a host of finals berths on the second day of competition.
The morning session was defined by Bermuda’s dominance in the 200m Freestyle events. Dominic Wright led the charge in the 13-14 Boys category, clocking a superb 2:03.70 to qualify second-fastest for the evening showcase. He was followed by Rory Shepherd, who placed ninth in 2:08.26. In the 15-17 age group, Katherine Wheddon and Marleigh Howes both successfully navigated their heats to claim fifth and eighth seeds respectively, while Madison Fox and Colette Durkin showed impressive symmetry in the 11-12 Girls division, finishing just five-hundredths of a second apart.
The sprint specialists were equally effective in the 50m Butterfly preliminaries. Dominic Wright continued his busy morning by placing 10th in the 13-14 Boys, while Marleigh Howes narrowly missed a top-eight seed by finishing ninth in the 15-17 Girls. The 15-17 Boys field proved incredibly dense, with Logan Jones, Joseph Lau, and Gabe Maranzana all delivering strong swims in a heat separated by less than half a second.
Bermuda’s backstroke contingent signaled their intent with a series of high-ranking finishes in the 100m heats. Dominic Wright and Rory Shepherd both secured prime lanes for the 13-14 Boys final, qualifying third and fifth respectively. They were joined by Connor Hupman, who touched the wall in exactly 1:00.00 to qualify fourth in the 15-17 Boys, while Violet Smith secured fifth in the 15-17 Girls with a composed 1:09.09.
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