After a standout opening day of competition at the CARIFTA Aquatics Championships, Antigua and Barbuda’s swimming delegation picked up right where they left off on the second day of finals, capturing three additional medals and smashing five national and age-group records to extend their strong early run at the tournament.
Building on a three-medal haul from day one, the Caribbean nation’s athletes added a full set of gold, silver, and bronze to their overall tally on day two, with two new national records and three new age-group benchmarks added to their growing list of career and national achievements.
Teen swimmer Madison MacMillan emerged as the day’s standout performer for the team, taking top honors in the women’s 400 metres individual medley with a final time of 5 minutes 15.85 seconds. Her winning mark not only earned her the gold medal but also reset the Antigua and Barbuda national record, established a new age-group record, and knocked time off her own previous personal best.
Fellow teammate Anya DeGannes followed closely behind MacMillan in the same 400m individual medley event, claiming the silver medal with a time of 5:27.71. Like MacMillan, DeGannes also walked away from the race with a new age-group record and a new personal best to add to her career highlights.
Jamie Tranter rounded out the day’s medal haul for Antigua and Barbuda, securing the bronze medal in the men’s 50 metres backstroke with a personal best time of 1:03.91.
While Alessandro Bazzoni just missed out on joining his teammates on the podium, finishing fourth in the men’s 400 metres individual medley with a time of 5:08.89, he still enjoyed a career-defining race. Bazzoni finished just 0.45 seconds off the bronze medal position, but his time set both a new national record and a new age-group record, marking a major milestone for the young swimmer.
In other day two races, Kaylee Warner notched sixth-place finishes in both the 200 metres freestyle and 50 metres butterfly, posting a new personal best of 2:22.75 in the 200m freestyle event. Alyssa Watkins also posted solid results, earning eighth place in the 50 metres butterfly and 13th place in the 400 metres individual medley.
The successful second day follows an equally impressive opening day of competition, when Antigua and Barbuda also captured three medals to kick off the championships. DeGannes opened her tournament with a gold medal in the 100 metres butterfly, breaking the age-group record and notching a personal best in the process. MacMillan added a silver in the women’s 800 metres freestyle, while Ellie Shaw claimed another silver in the women’s 200 metres breaststroke to round out day one’s medal haul.
Several other Antigua and Barbuda swimmers posted strong top-eight finishes on day one outside of the medal round. Tranter finished fourth in the 50 metres backstroke with a personal best, while Christopher Walter placed fifth in the 100 metres butterfly, also hitting a new personal best. Warner secured seventh in the 50 metres backstroke and sixth in the 100 metres butterfly, and Watkins took seventh place in the 100 metres butterfly.
In a post-competition statement, the Antigua and Barbuda Swimming Federation praised the team’s performance across the first two days of the event. Officials noted that the consistent medal haul and repeated record-breaking swims are clear evidence of sustained growth and progress for the country’s competitive swimming program, highlighting the depth of talent and preparation among the athlete roster.