WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB
April 14, 2012
Tyla Martin of Trinidad and Tobago took up where she left off last year in international meets by winning at the CARIFTA 2012 Swimming Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.
On Friday night, the Pine Crest High School freshman won three gold medals and broke meet and national records bringing her two-day meet total to four golds.
Martin, 14, won the 200-meter freestyle in 2:09.73, bettering her prelim time of 2:14.13 and just missing the meet record of 2:09.51. She also won the 50-meter butterfly in 29.49.
In her best race of the evening, she won the 400-meter individual medley in 5:11.99 to break her own national record of 5:13.69 she swam last year at the ASATT Invitational.
Martin is competing in seven events (100 fly, 200 free, 50 fly, 400 IM, 200 IM, 400 free and 200 back) in the 13-14 age group.
Martin also anchored the fourth place 400-meter medley relay (4:54.74).
On Thursday’s opening day, Martin won the 100-meter butterfly in 1:03.81 bettering the previous record of 1:04.74 and national record of 1:04.92 set in 1994.
Several other Florida Gold Coast swimmers did well on the second night of competition.
Metro Aquatics Zuhayr Pigot, 14, of Surinam won the 13-14 50-meter butterfly in 26.81.
Jordy Groters, 15, of Aruba and Davie Nadadores won his second gold medal of the meet in the 400-meter individual medley in 4:40.97.
Dylan Carter, 15, also of Trinidad and Tobago, won the 15-17 50-meter butterfly in 25.34. Metro Aquatics’ Diguan Pigot, 17, was fifth in 25.98. Pigot was also fourth in the 100-meter backstroke in 1:00.73.
Carter was also second in the 200 freestyle in 1:53.23 behind Joshua Romany, 16, in 1:52.46 and second in the 100-meter backstroke in 57.70 behind Jamaica’s Timothy Wynter in 57.32 and led off the winning 400-meter medley relay (3:57.83).
Twenty-two countries are competing in the Caribbean meet that ends Sunday.
Elsewhere
Fourteen-year-old Becca Mann of Clearwater Aquatic Team (CAT) went a career-best 15:58.90 in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the Nike NASA Showcase Classic currently being held in Clearwater, breaking the 20-year-old Michelle Richardson’s record she set while swimming for Hurricane Swimming. Mann’s previous best was 16:16.38.
TWEET OF THE DAY
“I have my first ACT and my first prom tomorrow!!!!! Crazy Saturday. So excited.”—Missy Franklin
Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
