Home|Sports|Forbes, Moss, Johnson lead by exampleSports
Trio looking to help Team Bahamas keep winning streak alive
Simba FrenchSend an emailApril 6, 2023 246 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
To win multiple championship titles in sports in a row is tough and The Bahamas has won four straight CARIFTA Swimming Championships, dating back to 2017 when the meet was hosted here in Nassau, The Bahamas. Nigel Forbes, who is in his final year of CARIFTA eligibility, has been a part of all four titles for The Bahamas and Keianna Moss and Marvin Johnson have represented The Bahamas in three of those championship wins. The trio are three of the leaders on Team Bahamas for the CARIFTA Swimming Championships which get underway today in Willemstad, Curaçao, leading by example.
To be a part of that many championship winning teams is not an easy feat. For Forbes, it has been very exciting to be a part of something as special as this and he thanked God for the success that the country has had in recent past.
“My first year in 11-12 age group was the championship year that stood out to me the most, mostly because it was my first year being on the CARIFTA team and we won. It was awesome to see the excitement of everyone because we won it in front of our home crowd. The atmosphere was legendary. It would mean a lot to me if we can five-peat because this is my final CARIFTA. I would love to go out on a high note,” said Forbes.
For Moss, it has also been an exciting experience. She has not been a part of a team that has not won a CARIFTA swimming meet.
“Getting to experience the wins each year with different swimmers on the team is very special. I enjoyed the bottom of my 13-14 period at CARIFTA in Barbados when I won my very first medals for The Bahamas which was gold and silver,” Moss said.
Swimming at CARIFTA has been an honor for Johnson, who does not take it lightly.
“A lot of swimmers flake out and lose that speed. It has been by the grace of God that I have an opportunity to be able to continue to be faithful and stay on this team which is a championship caliber team,” Johnson said.
CARIFTA swimming is a point-based meet and Moss said she just wants to bring in as much points as she can.
“In order for us to bring the win home again for a five-peat, it will take having to get our swimmers in each event back to the finals. In my opinion, we usually don’t have the fastest swimmers, but our swimmers have always got to finals and that is how we are going to win this five-peat.”
She feels good heading into CARIFTA and has been working out at the school she attends, McKendree University, with her coaches and teammates.
“Nigel and I go from way back. We have been racing each other and we have been teammates,” said Johnson. “It has always been a great honor to be with him and share the pool with him. Keianna has always been a sister to me. We always come to meets and get into arguments, and we have fun. We swim fast. It is just the bond you make. I will never forget what they have done for me and what I have done for them. Without them, the sport of swimming and my legacy in the sport of swimming would not have been how it is now.”
Johnson has known Forbes for years, with the duo having swam together in Grand Bahama. Johnson and Moss have been swimming on the same national team since 2018.
Forbes, who has committed to swim at Texas Christian University, has worked more on his mental state in preparation for this meet.
“I intend to swim to the best of my ability and I’m hoping to be able to encourage the other swimmers to push hard and to do the best they can. I have been working very hard. I worked harder than I have before and worked on being more disciplined and focusing a lot on the mental preparation for the meet,” Forbes said.
Johnson said that The Bahamas has a target on its back, but they are a family. He said a lot of teams have tried to put together great teams, but The Bahamas has something above everyone else – consistency and teamwork. Competition gets underway today.