As the second edition of the PanAm Aquatics Swimming Championships approaches, the Saint Lucia Aquatics Federation has announced its competitive roster: an eight-member delegation of talented swimmers primed to compete against the region’s best at the Hernando Arbeláez Jiménez Olympic Swimming Pools in Ibagué, Colombia. Running from July 8 to 12, this year’s tournament has attracted more than 500 athletes from 31 countries and territories across the Americas, marking one of the largest regional aquatics competitions on the 2026 calendar.
Saint Lucia’s participation in the championships has grown dramatically since the island nation made its debut appearance in 2025. That year, then-rookie Jayden Xu made history by claiming a bronze medal in the men’s 50-meter backstroke, becoming the first Saint Lucian to podium at the event. Just 12 months later, the country’s national team has more than doubled in size, a shift that reflects growing investment and rising interest in competitive swimming across the island.
For 2026, Xu returns to the championship looking to improve on his 2025 result, where he finished fourth in the 100m backstroke after his opening bronze. He will compete in the 50m and 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, and 400m freestyle. Joining Xu on the men’s roster are Olympian Mikaili Charlemagne, CARIFTA gold medalist Tyler Dantes, Jase Daniel, and Caden Calderon, each bringing a diverse range of strengths across multiple strokes and distances.
Charlemagne, who represented Saint Lucia at the Olympic Games, will focus on sprint events: the 50m and 100m freestyle and butterfly. Dantes, a rising young talent, carries the busiest individual schedule of any team member, with races scheduled in the 50m and 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly, and all three backstroke distances (50m, 100m, and 200m). Daniel will contest four freestyle events spanning 50m to 400m, plus three butterfly races from 50m to 200m, while Calderon will compete across freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke, and backstroke, closing out his individual schedule with the 200m individual medley.
The women’s side of the delegation features three of the Caribbean’s most promising young swimming stars, all gold medalists from the recent CARIFTA Aquatics Championships: Sapphire Parks, Maya Andrew, and Fayth Jeffrey. At just 12 years old, Parks has already established herself as one of the region’s top young competitors, earning back-to-back high point honors in the 11-12 girls division at CARIFTA. For the PanAm Championships, she will compete in six events: 100m and 200m backstroke, 100m and 200m butterfly, 200m breaststroke, and both the 200m and 400m individual medley.
Andrew will turn her focus to sprint freestyle and butterfly, plus multiple breaststroke distances, racing the 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly, and 50m, 100m, and 200m breaststroke. Jeffrey, who trains based in the United States, will compete in the 50m and 100m divisions of both freestyle and breaststroke.
Beyond individual events, Saint Lucia will field two mixed relay squads for the tournament. Parks, Andrew, Dantes, and Daniel will team up for the 4x100m mixed medley relay on July 9, followed by the 4x100m mixed freestyle relay on July 11. Leading the delegation is head coach Brian Charles, supported by assistant coach Jonathan Calderon and chaperone Sariah Daniel, who will oversee the team’s preparations and logistics throughout the championship. For a small island nation with a fast-growing aquatics program, this year’s expanded roster represents a major milestone, with fans across Saint Lucia eager to see how their young athletes perform against elite regional competition.