Archive for July, 2014

Junior swimmers head for Championships

Junior swimmers head for Championships

| 31/07/2014 | 2 Comments

(CIASA): As the Commonwealth Games’ swimming competition draws to an end, 10 of Cayman’s Junior Representative Team swimmers are preparing to compete in the 2014 Southern Zone Senior Long Course Championships in Fort Myers, Florida this week. The swimmers left on Sunday morning and were training in the 50m pool at the Florida Gulf Coast University Aquatic Centre on Monday, in preparation for the Championships which started on Tuesday, 29 July. Representing the Cayman Islands are: Jonathan Key, Samantha Bailey, John Bodden, Matthew Courtis, Wunyae Crawford, Alison Jackson, Sarah Jackson, Iain McCallum, Cole Morgan, Zororo Mutomba and Ella Plunkett.

“This is a Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association (CIASA) sanctioned overseas meet for our Junior Swimmers,” said Technical Director Bailey Weathers. “Following CARIFTA, I met with swim club coaches who agreed that our swimmers need to have opportunities to participate more frequently in competitive; prelim-finals swim meets. We found this meet and it was a perfect fit. The times are fast, the competition will be strong and our swimmers will be able to work on their race preparation and execution as well as getting in and swimming as fast as they can.”

The Cayman team is coached by Coaches Brad Hutton and Andy Copley and the Team Manager is Coach Marie Shepheard. The meet: 2014 Southern Zone Senior LC Championships is available on Meet Mobile (you can download the app for free) and follow the team as they represent Cayman.

Not to be outdone by the Junior Swimmers, Cayman’s Masters are also heading off to another CIASA sanctioned swim championship. They are taking part in the 15th FINA World Masters Championships, August 2-10th in Montreal, Canada. These championships are held every two years and the group from Cayman: Michelle Bailey, William Balderamos,  Lee-Anne Corin, Kim Eckart and Elliot Smith, look forward to racing against some of the worlds’ best Masters Swimmers.

“We are so happy that Cayman Swimming will be represented in Montreal,” said CIASA President Michael Lockwood, “With two years until the next competition I might start some serious training again myself … but in the meantime it is great to see so much happening with swimming this summer. From the government swimming camps at the Lions Pool with Coach Ryan Mushin, to overseas competitive age group swim meets, Cayman representative teams in Ft. Myers and Montreal and of course the stellar swims produced by our swimmers at the Commonwealth Games, there is no doubt that Cayman Swimming is growing from strength to strength and I am already looking forward to the upcoming swim season.”

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Babies’ survival and health depends on breastfeeding

Babies’ survival and health depends on breastfeeding

| 31/07/2014 | 0 Comments

(CNS): As health officials prepare to mark the 22nd annual World Breastfeeding Week they are reminding mums and mums to be of the numerous benefits and protections offered by feeding babies as nature intended. This year's theme focuses on increasing and sustaining the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. Breastfeeding can improve child survival by about 20% experts say, and as well as improving newborn care it reduces neonatal mortality, which contributes to the majority of infant deaths. In short, it has been shown repeatedly to be the single most effective way to prevent infant death.

But aside from keeping babies alive it plays a major role in a child's health and development, and significantly benefits the health of mothers.

Simone Sheehan, the HSA's Dietician, is heading up the initiatives in Cayman to mark the week which starts on 1 August, including a booth at the hospital, in conjunction with the Women’s Health Centre and the Cayman Islands Breastfeeding Support Group.

“We will have HSA midwives and Public Health Nurses available at the booth to hand out information and to answer any questions about breastfeeding,” Ms Sheehan said.  “This year’s theme is Breastfeeding: A Winning Goal for Life with the purpose of increasing awareness and the many benefits to breastfeeding. When mothers are able, we encourage breastfeeding as the first option over formula, as there are many health benefits for both the mother and the baby,” Sheehan said, adding that it helps build a strong bond between mother and child.

The Cayman Islands Breastfeeding Support Group is also a stakeholder in this initiative offering on-going support for breastfeeding mothers in the local community.

Annie Mae Roffey, a volunteer at the Breastfeeding Support Group, said she is looking forward to this year’s activities scheduled throughout the week.  “In addition to the informational booth, we will be hosting a Breastfeeding Café social event which is open to the public and specifically mothers who are breastfeeding fathers and their babies,” she said.

The Breastfeeding Café will be held at the Family Resource Centre [located in the Cayman Compass Centre, Shedden Road] on Monday August 4th from 12 noon until 2pm.

“This is a great opportunity for breastfeeding mothers to get together and discuss their personal experiences and exchange ideas,” .Roffey said.  “The Family Resource Centre also has a breastfeeding room with an electric pump available to mothers who may need a private place to feed or pump, which is convenient for working mothers who need some privacy during the workday.”

The world breast feeding week was originally launched by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA).  The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA) will be observing the week from 1-7 august and the information booth is located in the Atrium of the Cayman Islands Hospital and wil be open from 9:30am – 10:30am.

For more information about World Breastfeeding Week, visit www.hsa.ky or www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org

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Cops & Customs eye containers for stolen loot

Cops & Customs eye containers for stolen loot

| 31/07/2014 | 28 Comments

(CNS): As part of a joint operation between the RCIPS and the customs department, currently underway, officers have been targeting containers looking for stolen goods. During the pro-active targetted initiative called ‘Operation Spearfish’ the law enforcement team removed and detained two containers from the Windsor Park area in George Town on suspicion of containing property,  on Wednesday, (30 July) that may have been taken in various break-ins around Grand Cayman. The containers were taken to the Cargo Distribution Centre in the capital and officials are now examining the contents and comparing them with lists of stolen items reported to the police.

The ongoing investigation is on the look-out for stolen items from various burglaries, robberies and thefts which police and customs officers believe are being exported concealed in shipping containers. As well as the two containers detained yesterday, the investigation has already resulted in the detention of four shipping containers on suspicion of exporting stolen goods before they could leave the island.

The investigations are ongoing and there was no indication yet of any arrests in connection with the joint operation.
          

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Haines takes another marathon in his stride

Haines takes another marathon in his stride

| 31/07/2014 | 9 Comments

(CNS): In an amazing performance Derek Haines stormed to the finish line at the San Francisco marathon on Sunday in a fraction over four hours. The veteran runner has now pounded the pavement in four different cities in order to raise $1million for the local hospice charity to help them build a much needed inpatient facility. Following the fourth of his targeted six marathons in one year, Haines now has over $640,000 pledged towards the target. With the Dublin marathon in October and the home run in Cayman in December, what was a hefty looking target for the charity at the beginning of the year is looking more and more possible, as Haines at 65 years of age is tackling the marathons with style.

Speaking about the weekend run, Haines told CNS that it went very well and he was pleased with his time of 04:00:42, which he said was down to a fast second half.

"It is a picturesque course, although hilly, with great views including running over and back across the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather was perfect so that helped a great deal also. Rotary Club of Grand Cayman President Brian Hurley and Rotarian Tim Bradley ran creditable half marathons and it was great to have them and Tim's family there in support," Haines said. "The marathon and half marathon entries were completely full so there was a big field of runners. I finished in the top 25% and was 6th in my age group," he added.

Having met up with an old friend from the Cayman Islands who now lives in San Francisco, while he was in the City, Haines said he was taken on a boating tour of the Bay on Monday and his friend handed over another CI$1K for the challenge.

In addition, Haines said, just this week he was handed another generous donation from some local businessmen, who wish to remain anonymous, of US$25K.

"This is excellent news and brings the total pledged/donated to about CI$640K," the veteran runner said. "I wish to thank all of those who are supporting the cause. It really is tremendous how the Cayman community have responded to this challenge."

Anyone wishing to pledge towards the cause can visit six4hospice.com to find out how and more about Haines' amazing marathon challenge  

Photo: Ciara Bradley, Tim Bradley, Derek Haines, Brian Hurley, Kayla Bradley. Photo by Traci Bradley

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Charities OK despite economy

Charities OK despite economy

| 31/07/2014 | 24 Comments

(CNS): Despite the downturn in the world economy over the past six years, some charities in the Cayman Islands are thriving. Apart from community spirit and corporate citizenship, certain factors seem to determine whether charities do well in Cayman, with the overwhelming cause for donor loyalty is a relationship to the cause. For instance, cancer charities reported seeing an increase in funding and donations during the past several years and Victoria Grey of the Cancer Society beleives this is because everyone knows of someone or has been directly affected by cancer.

“As it relates to donations, we cannot say that we have seen a drop and actually we find that more people are donating. Having said that, I really do feel it is because of the cause,” she said. She explained that in her opinion the public is responding to the disease and its indiscriminate onslaught on humanity in recent times.

“Just as an example, with regard to how people are being affected, in the last five or six months, we have been seeing younger and younger patients, especially with breast cancer. And it seems the younger the person, the more aggressive the cancer.”

She pointed out that it has become more important than ever to get screening, which costs roughly $150 and explained that some donations are used to avail less fortunate people of these kinds of opportunities.

“When we receive donations, some come with specific instructions. The rest we use to offer pap smear, prostate and stool screening, as well as mammograms to individuals with little to no insurance. There are certain requirements to qualify though and some are undisclosed so that these programmes are not abused.”

At Meals-on-Wheels, which has been serving the indigent and bed-ridden in Cayman for over 17 years, the story was also encouraging, as Beulah McField shared what the last nine months have been like: “I must tell you that last year we were close to closing our doors in September. We were really wondering but in the midst of that, we found that what we were really having was a PR issue because once people knew that we were struggling, the support was overwhelming.”

McField said she felt the operation was now at a place where they could operate with peace-of-mind.

“We have been able to increase our operation’s capacity, as well as improve our facilities in the midst of hardship,” she said, adding that the organization also has a new Board, with new ideas and they are communicating with new people all the time.

“Charity is essential to society’s dignity,” noted McField, who added that it is important to remember those less fortunate and not to assume that a charity is doing well and can do without your support.

At the Rotary Central of Grand Cayman, the story was similar. Immediate Past President Noude Dreyer said, “We are very fortunate in that we have two well established sources of fund raising. The first is the Music Extravaganza, which has taken place for over 18 years now and the public – thankfully – have always supported, though this year, I must say, was the first time we had a little downturn in ticket sales. However, we still cannot complain.”

The other project Rotary Central is responsible for that helps the charities bottom line each year are the bus shelters, which give shelter to commuters on public transport and depict various advertisements for revenue.

“We can continue our work as a result of these two things. In fact, recently we won the two top awards for service in District 720, which includes 10 other countries such as Haiti, Jamaica, BVI and St. Maarten; and that was partly as a result of our fundraising, which in turn allowed us to support many projects,” he said. Dreyer indicated that he was aware, however, that some clubs were having trouble.

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Alternative shooters offered

Alternative shooters offered

| 30/07/2014 | 0 Comments

(CNS): Brian Borden’s defence against the charge that he and Keith Montaque shot and killed Robert Bush on 13 September 2011 has two main strands, as outlined in Grand Court Tuesday by Trevor Burke, QC, in his closing statement: firstly that an equally credible, or even better, case could be made for the shooters being Jordan Manderson and David Ebanks, and secondly that Marlon Dillon, the key witness for the prosecution, is not credible. Pointing to a number of statements that Dillon gave to the police that were later proved to be completely false, and the fact that he may be trying to curry favour with the court as he awaits sentencing for his part in two armed robberies, Burke called him a “tainted witness” and a “skilled and manipulative liar”.

Building the case against Manderson and Ebanks as alternative candidates for the murder, Borden’s lead defence lawyer referred to the testimony of Mayra Ebanks, who was in the passenger seat of the car in which Bush was murdered. According to her evidence, Manderson had told her that members of the Birch Tree Hill Gang wanted to kill Bush, her boyfriend, but had reassured her that they would have to get the weapons from him. So by this admission, the defence argued, Manderson claimed to be the armourer for the gang, and so would have access to the weapons that were used against Bush, and also highlighted the fact that that there were a number of people who wanted Bush dead.

Also from Mayra Ebanks’ evidence: the night before the shooting when Bush, who was associated with the Logwoods Gang, had picked her up from the junction of Capts Joe and Osbert Rd and Birch Tree Hill Rd in West Bay, he had driven into the nearby yard of Tishara Webster to get some Rizla papers and had had a confrontation with Manderson, a member of therival gang. By doing so, Burke suggested, Bush had disrespected Manderson in front of his friends, especially as he had a romantic affection for Mayra. She had told the court that Manderson had “come on to her” severaltimes but she had told him that he was too young for her.

Manderson and David Ebanks knew that Bush was on his way to pick up Mayra on the night of the murder through a series of BBMs. The crown’s case is that they passed this information onto Borden, who used it to kill Bush. However, Burke noted that while Manderson and Ebanks passed Mayra as she waited for Bush to pick her up in the usual spot just minutes before he was killed, there is no evidence that puts Borden right at the scene of the murder. In fact, he argued, cell phone communication between them would indicate that he was somewhere else.

Conceding that the cell site and phone evidence blew holes in Borden’s alibi that he was at home with his girlfriend (now his wife) at the time of the murder, Burke said all that proved was that he was somewhere in West Bay, not that he was at the junction where the murder took place.

In addition, Burke noted that in the immediate aftermath of the murder, Mayra Ebanks' first reaction was to say that the two shooters had come out of Tishara Webster’s yard, where the defence’s two alternative suspects had gone to a few minutes beforehand. However, when people came running to the scene after the shooting, Manderson and Ebanks were not among them, he said.

Burke pointed to the similarity in the descriptions of the clothing Manderson and Ebanks were wearing that night to those of the shooters’ clothing, both of which were given by Mayra – though, as the crown noted, she also pointed to a few significant differences. These items of clothing had later been found hidden in a white bag in the loft space of David Ebanks’ grandmother’s house, Burke said.

David Ebanks had also been found with shotgun cartridges in his trouser pocket that had been processed by the same firearm that killed Bush, Burke noted.

All these facts raise a clear prima facie case against Manderson and Ebanks, the defence told the court.

Turning to the evidence of Marlon Dillon, Burke said he had two motives to lie about Borden’s supposed confession to him that he had killed Bush. Firstly, to ingratiate himself in court before his sentencing for his part in the CNB and WestStar armed robberies. While his testimony in those two trials, which had helped to convict the other robbers, had already resulted in as much reduction in his sentence as he was likely to get, Burke noted that, having implicated Borden, if he had not given evidence it would have gone against him.

The second reason for Dillon to lie was that, as he had told police in a statement on 10 July 2012, just after his arrest for robbery, he was particularly fearful of David Tomasa, whose case in the Bush murder trial was dismissed Monday but who is serving 14 years for the CNB and WestStar robberies. Dillon had told police that if Tomasa put the word out for his wife to be murdered, then Brian Borden would be the one to do it. Following Dillon’s statement to the police two days later accusing Borden of murder, he had been remanded in custody, removing him off the streets, so he could not hurt Dillon’s wife.

Burke pointed to “the merry dance” that Dillon had led police in a series of statements regarding both robberies, including the elaborate story he had concocted when first arrested on the day of the CNB robbery that he had been kidnapped by the robbers, stripped down to his underwear and locked in the trunk of his own car.

Initially he had told police that his role in the WestStar robbery had been as a getaway driver, for which he had received just $400, which was disproved by CCTV evidence. In anticipation of being confronted with the truth, he had even accused the police officers of fabricating what he had said.

“There is no doubt that he is a vile criminal,” Burke said.

Dillon’s testimony that on the day of the confession about the murder Brian Borden had been droppedoff at Tomasa’s house by Renaldo “Naldo” Sanchez had been sharply contradicted by Sanchez’ own testimony that he did not know Tomasa at all and had never been to his house. If Sanchez is to be believed, it completely undermines Dillon’s credibility, Burke said.

However, Andrew Radcliffe, QC, the lead prosecutor, said that when Dillon had implicated Borden, he could not possibly have known that it would be supported by other evidence, which gave credence to his testimony.

Radcliffe said that the supporting evidence – from Tracy Watler, from Mayra Ebanks, from an eye-witness that places him near the scene of the crime about an hour after the murder, as well as the cell site evidence given by an RCIPS expert witness – was all completely independent and was consistent with Dillon’s testimony.

He said that unless a series of unrelated witnesses either told lies about Borden or were wrong, it was “an extraordinary coincidence” that their evidence supported Dillon’s testimony.

The evidence exists that Marlon Dillon is an accurate, honest and reliable witness, Radcliffe submitted.

The case is being heard in a judge-alone trial before Justice Alex Henderson.

Read related stores  on CNS:

WB shooting trial begins

Borden obsessed, witness says

Witness saw gunmen coming

Key witness recalls confession

'No case' against Tomasa

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Track athletes finish Commonwealth run

Track athletes finish Commonwealth run

| 30/07/2014 | 6 Comments

(CIOC): A number of Cayman athletes wrapped up their sojourn in Scotland. Gymnast Bethany Dikau, 17, finished 37th out of 40 athletes in the artistic gymnastics event. For the floor segment, Dikau had a score of 10.766 points and registered 11 points in the vault, 7.666 points in the uneven bars and 9.466 points on the balance beam for an all-around score of 38.898. Each apparatus carried a maximum of 15 points, with 60 points being the overall top score. Dikau, the first gymnast in Cayman’s history to compete at the Games, said she certainly felt the scale of the competition.

“I was definitely nervous but I was more excited so I had a lot more energy,” Dikau said. “I think that overtook my nervousness. I just took it skill by skill and then after I was done, I was relieved that I was done. But it went well so it was exciting.”

On the track, most of Cayman’s athletes failed to advance beyond the preliminary stages. Hurdler Ronald Forbes was fifth in his 110m hurdles heat, posting a time of 13.89 seconds. Ashleigh Nalty finished 11th in her high jump group with a leap of 1.71 meters – her best mark of the season. 

Carlos Morgan was eighth in group A of the long jump with a leap of 7.41m, while twin brother Carl Morgan was 11th in group B of the long jump with a mark of 6.99m. Tyrell Cuffy finished fifth in heat seven of the 200m with a time of 21.75 seconds and David Hamil placed seventh in heat nine of the 200m at 22.02 seconds.

Earlier in the week, sprinter Kemar Hyman offered a bright spot by advancing to the semis of the 100m. He would place sixth in his heat with a time of 10.31 seconds. He previously won his preliminary race in a time of 10.20 seconds.

Off the track, the shooting team wrapped up its Scotland performance. Chris Jackson, 47, was 20th in round one of the trap event, nailing 42 out of 50 clay targets. In round two, he would place 29th after hitting 55 out of 75 targets.

Over on the squash courts, the doubles event went into its second day. On the men’s side, Julian Jervis and Myron Blair started out by losing to India before beating Uganda. For the mixed doubles, Cameron Stafford and Marlene West lost to Australia before beating Zambia while Daniel Murphy and Eilidh Bridgeman lost to Malaysia before beating Papua New Guinea.

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Ebanks decisioned in the quarterfinals

Ebanks decisioned in the quarterfinals

| 30/07/2014 | 4 Comments

(CIOC): Tafari Ebanks gave a memorable showing for Cayman Islands boxing in Glasgow but his XX Commonwealth career came to an end earlier today. Ebanks, 20, advanced to the quarter-finals of the bantam (56 kilograms) weight class with a first round bye before beating 20-year-old Henry Umings of Papua New Guinea by second round TKO. His successful start didn’t follow him into the semis, however, where Ebanks dropped a unanimous decision to 29-year-old Benson Gicharu Njangiru, with each of the three judges scoring 29-28 in favor of the Kenyan.

The West Bayer started slowly, as Njangiru won the first two rounds by scores of 10-9 each time, before winning the final three-minute round 10-9. Ebanks says the fight did not show him at his best.

“It went extremely well but my performance wasn’t up to standard to how I wanted to make it,” Ebanks said. “It was a really close fight. I lost but I know I could have done better within myself. I got a lot to think about.”

Cayman’s national boxing coach, Norman Wilson, was in Ebanks’ corner for both fights. Wilson said the quarterfinal loss was a result of Ebanks not having enough heart.

“As the fight was going on, for some reason, I saw him a little lackadaisical,” Wilson said. “I told him he wasn’t in the fight in the first round. You have to win the first round; you have to because that sparks the judges. When the judges see you owning it that sparks them. He got hit with some shots that he isn’t supposed to get hit with. I told him when came to the corner, ‘you’re not in the fight, where are you?’ Then he picked it up a little bit in the second but not enough. He took the last round, but that isn’t good enough.”

“It’s him. See, if you know how to do everything and get in the ring and don’t do it, we can’t say it’s your jab or your guard; it’s you. You have to have that desire to be able to say, ‘I’m going to win.’ You got toknow how to win. Winning isn’t just getting in the ring, looking pretty, moving pretty. You got to fight.”

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More than ‘teething’ problems with customs codes

More than ‘teething’ problems with customs codes

| 30/07/2014 | 0 Comments

(CNS Business): The current duty codes and changes to the customs law have created some real issues and the customs department, the business community and the ministry need to find a way to get all the relevant stakeholders in a room and work through them, Chamber of Commerce President Johann Moxam told CNS Business. Despite efforts by the customs department to get the business community up to speed by working with the Chamber of Commerce to put on workshops, he said it now appears to take far longer now that it did previously to clear items from customs. He said it was too big a problem to dismiss as “mere teething”. Watch the video and comment

“We’re now a month into the process and the complaints are growing by the day and it’s something that needs to be addresses promptly,” he added.

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Swim team not sunk by missing treasure

Swim team not sunk by missing treasure

| 30/07/2014 | 0 Comments

(CIOC): They were touted as a group most likely to medal in Glasgow, but the Cayman Islands swimming team will be coming home empty-handed. Cayman wrapped up its aquatics portion of the XX Commonwealth Games in Scotland with no medals. With a team consisting of Geoffrey Butler, Lara Butler, David Ebanks, Brett Fraser, Lauren Hew and Alex McCallum which boasts an impressive collective resume that includes Olympic appearances, Island Games and CARIFTA swim championship medals, the lack of hardware this time around is surprising.

The history books will show Fraser, 24, produced the best results with a fifth place finish in the 50 meter butterfly finals and a berth in the 50m freestyle semi-finals, where he ended up seventh in his heat. Fraser, whose competition including athletes such as Olympian Chad le Clos of South Africa, says losing at thislevel is no disgrace. Certainly, it’s hard to argue against that.

“It’s just a matter of I’ve known these guys for a while, I’ve been racing them for a while,” Fraser said. “Everyone’s done their training, it’s fun to compete against these guys. I see it as more of an opportunity to just race and get better.”

After starring alongside his older brother Shaune at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, Fraser barely fell short of the podium spotlight. Fraser finished fifth in the 50m fly final in a time of 23.66 seconds,  just behind England’s Adam Barrett (23.43 seconds), bronze medalist le Clos (23.36 seconds), silver medalist Roland Schoeman of South Africa (23.13 seconds) and gold medalist Benjamin Proud of England, whose time of 22.93 seconds also set a new Games record. In the 50m free, Fraser would finish fourth in his preliminary heat with a mark of 22.79 seconds before posting a time of 22.87 seconds in the semis.

The only other swimmer to reach the latter stages of competition would be Hew, Cayman’s youngest Games participant at 14 years old. She would place sixth in the 100m backstroke at 1:07.34 and be listed as a reserve for the semis and end up eighth in the 200m back at 2:27.16 before finishing fifth in the 50m back heats at 30.55 seconds and seventh in the semis at 31.08 seconds. Prior to the 50m back semis, Hew said her team mates motivated her to perform well.

“I’ve been training quite hard this year and just to be here is pretty amazing,” Hew said. “I think with the atmosphere here I’ve been dropping time because of that, with the crowd and being part of a team with Brett, who is an Olympian and stuff like that. I think that just made me swim a lot faster.”

Another positive came from David Ebanks, a 32-year-old based out of Essex in England. Despite placing second in the heats of the 100m breaststroke at 1:08.36, he missed out on the semis due to his time. From there, he would finish sixth in the 50m breaststroke with a mark of 30.04 seconds.

On the flip side, it would seem nerves got the best of three bright Under-21 prodigies in the Butler siblings and McCallum. During his heats, Geoffrey Butler was seventh in the 1500m free at 16:14.39; sixth in the 400m free at 4:06.78 and second in the 200m free at 1:57.13 (he missed out on the semis due to his time).

Geoffrey Butler, 18, said after his 1500m swim that it was a forgettable showing on his part.

“It (the 1500m) was two seconds slower than my best so it was OK,” Geoffrey Butler said. “My best is my best so I can’t be too upset about that. You always want to do better and I only had one personal best this meet so it wasn’t my best meet. I don’t have that many excuses really, there’s no point putting excuses out there. Maybe just train a bit harder next year and hope for the best.”

During her heats, Lara Butler was eighth in the 100m back at 1:08.37, eighth in the 200m Individual Medley at 2:27.49, seventh in the 100m fly at 1:05.69 and seventh in the 200m fly at 2:22.53.Butler, 19, said the spotlight did affect her.

“I’m thinking a lot of it is nerves going in,” Lara Butler said. “People here are like really, really good and tops in the world and in the call room, you seem them all getting ready. It’s cool being able to race them all but it’s scary at the same time.”

During his heats, McCallum was eighth in the 50m back at 28.27 seconds, eighth in the 100m back at 1:01.22 and fifth in the 200m back at 2:13.87. McCallum, 20, revealed after the 200m back that he was not fully fit for his races.

“I just didn’t really feel the water very well,” McCallum said. “I struggled the whole way through. I wasn’t feeling too confident about my swim but oh well, it’s just one of those bad days. You got to get back up and train stronger for next season. It’s my first big competition so I was a bit nervous really. It was one good swim and a couple of bad swims but it’s just another meet and I struggled. Leading up, I was a bit ill before – like three weeks ago. So who knows, if I wasn’t sick it may have been different.”

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