On the third evening of finals at the CARIFTA Aquatics Championships, the swimming team from Antigua and Barbuda turned in an outstanding, career-defining performance that has cemented the country’s status as one of the most improved competitors in this year’s tournament. The team left the block with one clear goal: to exceed expectations and collect hardware, and they delivered far beyond projections, wrapping up the night with four gold medals and two bronze medals – the strongest single-session result the nation has posted throughout the entire competition.
Leading the charge for the underdog Caribbean squad were three standout young competitors: Madison MacMillan, Ellie Shaw, and Anya DeGannes, each of whom not only claimed top podium spots but also rewrote the Antigua and Barbuda national record book by the end of the session. Beyond the six medals, the team set two new all-time national records and three new age-group benchmarks, with multiple swimmers hitting personal best times across their events.
MacMillan kicked off the medal surge for the team, claiming the top spot on the podium in the girls’ 1500-meter freestyle in a tightly contested race that came down to the final lap. It was Shaw, however, who delivered the most dominant performance of the night for Antigua and Barbuda, walking away with two gold medals in separate events. First, she claimed victory in the 200-meter individual medley, a race that saw her break both the long-standing national record and the age-group record while also clocking a new personal best time. She did not slow down after that win, returning to the pool shortly after to take another gold in the 50-meter breaststroke, further cementing her status as one of the tournament’s rising stars.
DeGannes added the team’s fourth gold of the night in the 200-meter butterfly, turning in a personal best performance that also earned her a new national age-group record. Even in her non-medal race later that evening, the 200-meter individual medley, DeGannes continued to push boundaries, finishing fourth overall while clocking another age-group record and another new personal best, a testament to the team’s depth of training and competitive drive.
The two bronze medals earned by the squad came from equally impressive efforts from Kaylee Warner and Alessandro Bazzoni. Warner finished third in the 100-meter freestyle, hitting a personal best time to secure her spot on the podium, while Bazzoni matched that result with a bronze of his own in the men’s 200-meter butterfly, also turning in a new personal best to round out the medal haul.
Beyond the podium finishers, several other Antigua and Barbuda swimmers turned in strong performances that contributed to the team’s overall successful night. Christopher Walter finished sixth in both the 100-meter freestyle and the 200-meter individual medley, holding his own against far more experienced competitors from larger regional nations. Selah Wiltshire placed eighth in the 50-meter breaststroke, and even outside the top three, she walked away with a new personal best time to cap her performance.
For Antigua and Barbuda, this historic medal haul is far more than just a one-night success: it caps off a string of strong results throughout the CARIFTA Aquatics Championships, with the nation’s swimmers consistently delivering podium finishes and record-breaking performances across a wide range of events. As the tournament progresses, the team has proven that small Caribbean nations can compete at the highest level of regional aquatics competition.