A number of swimmers took part in the Swift Swimming Annual Open Water Race on Saturday at Palm Cay. Shown are some of the participants. (Photo: Andy Knowles)

The Swift Swimming club held its annual open water race over the weekend at Palm Cay.

The race served as a qualifier for two major regional meets, CARIFTA and the CCCAN (Central American and Caribbean Amateur Swimming Confederation) Championships, and also as a qualifier for the Commonwealth Youth Games.

"It was a beautiful day for some good racing," said the club's head coach Andy Knowles. "With seven clubs participating, there were enough swimmers to offer some good competition. Another unique attraction for the open water race is that the Bahamas Swimming Federation has set tougher standards for those who would like to represent The Bahamas in open water swimming. Swimmers will have to compete in two open water races a year and will be required to make a qualifying time standard for regional meets like CARIFTA and CCCAN."

The overall top swimmers, male and female, in each course, were Caden Wells and Laila Burrows in the 800 meters (m), Devante Carey and Simone Bellot in the 1.6 kilometers (k) swim, and Tristan Russell and Giovanna Eneas in the 5k swim.

The oldest swimmer in action was Percy Knowles. He completed the one-mile course in 51:46.14. For the achievement he was awarded the Susan Morley Trophy.

"As open water swimming continues to be more popular both here at home and around the world, we see a greater participation from all the swim clubs," said Knowles on the event's growth.

Burrows won the women's 800m in 14:19.44, and Wells took the men's 800 in 14:19.19.

In the 1.6k swim, Philena Styles won the 12-and-under girls group in 37:19.35, Bellot took the 13-19 girls age group in 31:14.78, Katie Roach was first in the 20-49 ladies in 34:12.69 and Nancy Knowles won the 50-100 age group in 39:07.26.

In male action, Erald Thompson won the 12-and-under category in 29:01, Carey won the 13-19 age group in 25:18.40, Michael Guy took the 20-49 age group in 32:50.17 and David del Cueto won the 50-100 age group in 46:48.89.

In the 5k race, Giovanna Eneas took the 12-19 girls age group in 1:24:15.09, Tristan Russell won the 12-19 boys in 1:15:22.17 and Cameron Roach won the 20-100 men's category in 1:35:43.24.

Palm Cay, Subway, Higgs & Johnson, Deloitte & Touche, and Australian Gold came on board as sponsors for this year's event.

Randy Smith, Guardian Sports Reporter

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