Lightning Aquatic Swim Club’s twenty-three member team amassed 286 points to claim a fourth place finish in the Independence Challenge Swim Meet held on Sunday at the Rodney Heights Aquatic Centre.
The meet recorded exciting performances from some of the elite swimmers representing the six clubs on the island as they continued preparation for final selection to represent Saint Lucia at the upcoming CARIFTA Swimming Championship in the Bahamas next month.
The LA Club had some outstanding performances on the day: Karic Charles won the 50 and 100- metres Breaststroke and placed 3rd in the 50-metres Freestyle; and Akim Ernest won the 50-metres Butterfly, 100-metres Backstroke and 50-metres Freestyle.
Anneliese Gaillard won the 50-metres Breaststroke, 25-metres Freestyle and 50-metres Freestyle.
The club’s brother-sister duo and 2016 male and female swimmers of the year, Ethan and Naima Hazell, were also in good nick, with Ethan winning the 100-metres Freestyle and placing second in the 50-metres Breaststroke and 50-metres Freestyle while Naima won the 100-metres Breaststroke, 50-metres Breaststroke and 50-metres Freestyle.
Aliyah Henry placed third in the 50-metres and 100-metres Breaststroke; Naekeisha Louis came second in the 50-metres Breast and 50-metres Freestyle and won the 100-metres Butterfly. Yannick Layne finished third in the 100-metres Breaststroke, Nathan Sherman second in the 50- metres Butterfly and Chloe Thomas third in the 50-metres Breaststroke.
In the Relays for the Boys 10-and-under 200-metres freestyle, the quartet of Ethan Hazell, Karic Charles, RojanFelicien and Liam Emmanuel placed second while in the Girls 11-14 200- freestyle, Naima Hazell, Naekeisha Louis, Angelique Gaillard and Aliyah Henry had to settle for a third place finish.
Lightning Aquatic’s President, Tessa Louis told The VOICE she was pleased with the performances put on by the swimmers.
She said, “Overall, we are happy with the performances. Our swimmers recorded many personal bests and we look forward to even better times at our next meet. Moving forward, our focus will be improving technique, endurance and ensuring that swimmers are not just physically but mentally prepared for competition.”