Home|Sports|The Bahamas ends CAC Games with four medalsSports
Simba FrenchSend an emailJuly 11, 2023 103 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
The Bahamas wrapped up action at the 24th Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games with four medals – one gold, one silver and two bronze medals. The multi-event meet began on June 21 and wrapped up on Saturday July 8 at various venues around San Salvador, El Salvador.
In the grand scheme of the meet, The Bahamas placed 17th overall and was one of 20 countries to win at least one gold medal.
Swimmer Lamar Taylor warmed up for the World Aquatics World Championships by swimming away with a gold and a bronze.
Taylor was the first to touch the wall in the 50 meters (m) backstroke when he set a new national record of 25.08 seconds. That time was also an ‘A’ cut for the 20-year-old for the upcoming world championships, set for July 14-30 in Fukuoka, Japan.
Taylor held off CAC Games record holder Dylan Carter, of Trinidad & Tobago, who posted a time of 25.55 seconds. Finishing third was Mexico’s Diego Camacho who posted a time of 25.68 seconds.
Taylor’s bronze medal came in the 50m freestyle in which he powered his way to post a time of 22.51 seconds. Carter won that race when he stopped the clock at a new games record of 21.87 seconds. Aruba’s Mikel Schreuders won the silver medal, finishing in 22.43 seconds.
Ken Mullings was in a competitive battle against Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens for the top of the podium in the decathlon event. In the end, Mullings had to settle for the silver medal after scoring a personal best 8,060 points. Owens scored 8,281 points to secure the victory. They were the only competitors to score above 8,000 points. Finishing third was Owens’ teammate, Yariel Soto, who scored 7,762 points.
Mullings won the high jump, discus and the javelin throw events.
The final medal for The Bahamas, a bronze, came in the men’s high jump and was won by Shaun Miller Jr. He cleared 2.22 meters (m) – 7’ 3-1/2” – to secure the bronze medal. Winning that event was Puerto Rico’s Luis Castro with a height of 2.25m (7’ 4-1/2”) and finishing second was Cuban Luis Zayas who cleared the same height as Castro but finished second based on number of knockdowns.
It was an historic meet for The Bahamas in the sport of equestrian as it was the first time the country competed in that sport at this level. Jumper Anna Vlasov and her horse Gulliver du Saint-Chene not only competed but was able to qualify for the final in the individual jumping event.
The men’s water polo team advanced to the quarterfinals but lost 23-7 against Puerto Rico. They eventually finished eighth after they lost their 7th-8th place game, 18-16, against Centro Caribe Sports on Friday. Like he has been doing all tournament, Joshua Gibson led them with five goals in that game. Overall, he scored 12 goals to finish tied for 15th on the leading goal scorers list.
Leron Rolle was in action in archery and was able to advance to the round of 32 in the men’s compound individual category. He lost to Puerto Rico’s Bryan Thompson, 142-141, in the round of 32.
In sailing, Paul De Souza and Jaqueline Frode finished fifth with a score of 42 points in the snipe. The highest they finished in any of the races was third. Joshua Higgins finished with 81 points to place 11th overall in the ILCA 7 sailing event.
It is a slight drop off for Team Bahamas from the 2018 edition of the CAC Games in Barranquilla, Colombia. They won seven medals – four golds, two silver and a bronze to place 10th overall at that meet.