Simba FrenchSend an emailJune 9, 2022 149 1 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
The Bahamas Aquatics Federation has ratified a four-member team to represent The Bahamas at the FINA (International Swimming Federation) World Aquatics Championships set for Budapest, Hungary, in less than two weeks’ time. Competition gets underway on Saturday, June 18 and wraps up on Sunday, July 3.
Competing for The Bahamas at the 19th edition of the championships at the Duna Arena in Budapest, are Lilly Higgs, Izaak Bastian, Lamar Taylor and Zaylie-Elizabeth Thompson.
Sara Knowles is the team’s head coach. Rochelle Bastian is the team manager and Cordero Bonamy is the physiotherapist.
President of Bahamas Aquatics Algernon Cargill said they feel the team will make its presence felt in Budapest.
“We expect the team to do well and we expect to have positive representation. We’re very excited about this team,” Cargill said.
Taylor and Thompson are still collegiate swimmers – Taylor at Henderson State University and Thompson at Howard University. Cargill said this will be good for not only the younger ones but the older ones as well.
“It’s going to be a first-time experience for Thompson and Taylor at the FINA World Championships. Taylor has previously represented The Bahamas at the world short course championships. It’s going to be a good experience for all four members and hopefully we’ll get some semifinals and maybe final swims,” Cargill said.
This is Bastian’s second time swimming at these championships, having represented The Bahamas at the 18th edition in Gwangju, South Korea, in 2019. Bastian and Taylor were in Budapest for the FINA World Junior Championships in 2019. Higgs, Taylor and Bastian were in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in December 2021, for the world short course championships. Thompson represented The Bahamas in April at the 2022 CARIFTA Games in which she helped captain the team to a fourth straight championship victory. This will be the first time that the 17-year-old represents the country at the senior level.
Higgs and Bastian just graduated from university – Higgs from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and Bastian from Florida State University (FSU). Bastian will head to Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), pursuing a doctorate degree in physiotherapy.
Cargill will be in Budapest for the FINA Bureau meetings, representing the CCCAN (Central American and Caribbean Amateur Swimming Confederation) region.