Experienced campaigner Andrei Cross led the Barbados effort at the recently concluded World Short Course Championships in Manchester England from April 9-13 with the highest placings for the competition. Cross placed 28th in the 50 metre breastroke in 28.45 and 35th in the 100 metre breastroke in 1:02.02. Those times represent the fastest done at these Championships by a Barbadian swimmer since the change of the millennium beating the 32.05 done by Andrew Jones at the 2006 Shanghai Games and the 1:02.66 done by Bradley Ally at the 2004 Games in Indianapolis USA.They also represent the fastest time done by a CARIFTA swimmer since 2000. Cross’ time in the 100 M breaststroke represents a new Barbados 18&over age group and National open record lowering his own time of 1:02.05 established in November 2007 at the British University SC Championships.
Vaughn Forsythe clocked times of 1:57.48 (56th) for the 200 freestyle 4:19.63 (44th) for the 400 metre freestyle and the 100 IM and 52nd for the 100 Individual Medley 1:04.44 (52nd) for a creditable showing for his first major international outing. The experience should put him in good stead to challenge the top times posted by Barbados at these Championships in the last eight years, Damian Alleyne’s 4:00.36 and 1:51.38 at the 2002 Moscow edition and Ally’s 55.67 from his semi-final swim in 2004. Forsythe opened his debut by establishing a new 18 & over record in the 200 M freestyle erasing old team mate Cliff Gittens’ record of 1:58.19 from December 2003