Guyana finish in cellar position; 12 gold medals, one bronze for Van Lange

– Suriname retain Championship title

Suriname made a successful defence of their Goodwill Swimming Championships title, finishing on 812 points, 45 more than runner-up Trinidad and Tobago but Guyana’s Olympian Brittany Van Lange was a standout with 12 gold medals and a bronze at the three-day meet.

Barbados finished third on 379 and Guyana in the cellar position on 239. However, Van Lange proved that she deserved to be called the best in the Caribbean in the female 15-17 age category when she picked up 12 gold and one bronze medals at the meet which concluded on Sunday at the National Aquatic Centre (NAC).
On her way to winning the medals, Van Lange broke three Goodwill records as well. Her most memorable event was on the second day in the 4x100m freestyle relay when she came from behind to give the Guyanese their first gold in the relays.
When she started the final leg, her Trinidadian rival was over 25m ahead, and she maintained that lead until around the final 40m when Van Lange started closing the gap. The Guyanese passed her around the final 15m mark and won the race comfortably for her team in a time of 4: 34.65s. Trinidad and Tobago’s final time was 4: 36.67.
She also broke the 100m freestyle record with a time of 1: 01.53s, eclipsing the previous time of 1: 02.34; the 50m freestyle in 27.74s erasing the earlier 27.88s; and chopping off one second of the 100m breaststroke in a time of 1: 22.16s.
She also won gold in the 200m, 50m Breaststroke, 50m butterfly, and 50m back stroke.
Along with Athena Gaskin, Steffi DeNobrega, and Soraya Simmons, Van Lange swam to an easy victory in the 4x50m freestyle.
Surinamese Soraya Van Dijk and Trinidadian Marie Marcano who gave their all to upset the local star swimmer, eventually got their revenge in the 100m backstroke; she placed third in a time of 1: 14.26.
Van Lange was not the only gold medalist for Guyana, little Onika George tied with Valery Amstelveen of Suriname in the 13-14 female 50m freestyle in a time of 29.22.8s. The promising Joseph Seguina, secured a bronze in the 15-17 50m backstroke.
Also among the medallists for Guyana were Athena Gaskin with a bronze in the Girls 15-17 50m butterfly and a silver in the 100m breaststroke, and Onika George with a silver in the Girls 13-14 50m backstroke.
The Boys 13-14 team of Selwyn Miller, Omari Dunn, Omar Adams and Hannibal Gaskin came from behind to snatch the bronze in the 4x100m freestyle in a time of 4:15.10.12, while the team of Daniel Scott, Joseph DeNobrega, Kevin Dare and Dylan Nurse surprised everyone with a bronze in the Boys 11-12 4x100m freestyle in 2:07.27.