Manager of the National Swimming team, Leon Seetan said yesterday he is impressed with the development of swimmers at the recent Goodwill Championships which was held in Suriname.
Though the team finished in the cellar position with 26 medals, the manager said he was satisfied with his team’s effort in face of the financial constraints that faced the team before departure.
The team’s medal count included four (4) gold, six (6) silver and eight (8) bronze individual medals and eight relay bronze medals. However, Guyana only field 29 swimmers out of a possible 40 allowed by the games’ authorities.
Soroya Simmons, who finished with two gold medals in the 15-17 category was Guyana’s top swimmer while Onika George and Nathan Hackett accompanied Simmons first day performance by achieving a gold medal each.
Seetan, though, said that he was disappointed at the lack of financial support for the team, stating that was the main reason for Guyana being able to send only 29 swimmers.
He added that most of the parents acquired the necessary sponsorship to enable their children’s participation otherwise the situation could have been worse.
Guyana captured 26 medals at this year’s meet compared to eight (8) last year when the competition was held in Barbados.
There was also an increase in the number of competitors this year, 29, as compared to last year, 20. According to Seetan, the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA)’s introduction of their outreach swimming programme, which seeks to involve swimmers throughout the length and breadth of Guyana, is already paying dividends as it resulted in an increase of swimmers at the Goodwill Games.
He opined that more competition and the continuation of the outreach programme will be the way forward for the national team ahead of next year’s tournament which is set for Trinidad and Tobago.
The points standing at the end of the competition; Trinidad and Tobago 1569 points, Suriname 1460 points, Barbados 524.5 points, St. Lucia 488.5 points and Guyana 461 points.
