Virgin Islands Swimmers to Compete in International Events

Klein breaks own V.I. swim record at meet

DAILY NEWS STAFF) 
Published: March 19, 2014


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Sasha Klein broke her own Virgin Islands swimming record over the weekend, as she was among four youth swimmers from the territory to compete in Florida.

Klein, 14, swam in 28.24 seconds in the prelims of the 50-meter freestyle at the Speedo Championships Series zone sectional meet in Plantation, Fla., setting a new V.I. Open record. She took 27th overall in the event.

Klein, a student at Antilles School, also took 29th in the 100 freestyle, 54th in the 200 freestyle, and 75th in the 100 butterfly.

The Speedo Championships Series displays some of the top swimming talent from across the United States and abroad. With more than 650 swimmers competing, including a number of Olympians, the Virgin Islands were well-represented over the course of the meet.

Portia Norkaitis of St. Thomas, a student at V.I. Montessori and Peter Gruber International Academy, took 24th in the 200 breaststroke, 41st in the 100 breaststroke, 100th in the 100 butterfly, and 165th in the 50 freestyle.

A St. Croix pair, Tony Hendricks and Alex Lewit of Good Hope Country Day School, also swam in Forida.

Hendricks was 58th in the 100 breaststroke, 52nd in the 100 backstroke, 57th in the 50 freestyle, and 54th in the 200 backstroke.

Lewit was 73rd in the 100 butterfly, 43rd in the 400 individual medley, 59th in the 200 IM and was 32nd in the 200 butterfly.

All four Virgin Islands swimmers posted personal best times in the meet.

Swimmers from the Virgin Islands Swimming Federation are now training in preparation for the international CARIFTA swimming competition, which is April 21 in Aruba.

For additional information, contact the St. Thomas Swimming Association at 779-7872, or the St. Croix Dolphins at 719-7946. For more information about the Virgin Islands Swimming Federation, contact [email protected].

 

Virgin Island Swimmers to Compete in International Events
 
Written by the BVI Beacon
 
Virgin Islands swimming sisters, Amarah and Elinah Phillip, hope to win several awards and set another national record or two when they represent the territory at both the upcoming Scottish Nationals and the Carifta Games in April.
 
The swimmers are currently preparing up for their first Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland on July 23 to Aug. 3.
 
At Glasgow, Amarah, 15, will compete in the 50 metres and 100-metre butterfly and the 50-metre freestyle.
 
Her younger sister, Elinah, who has become England’s second fastest 50-metre freestyle swimmer in her age group and the third fastest in the 50-metre butterfly swimmer.
 
Elinah is now one of only three thirteen year-old girls who has gone under the 28-second mark in the 50-metre freestyle long course. She is expected to also compete in the 2014 British National Age Group Championships.
 
Both Amarah and Elinah train between six to seven times a week in the water.
 
“We’re very excited for the girls,” said BVI Swim Federation President Elsworth Phillip, who is the father of the two swimmers. “We think they both have an excellent chance to do very well at all their competitions this year. They are both extremely dedicated and the coaches at Hatfield are very pleased and excited about their prospects.”
 
The sisters had a series of wins at the 23rd OECS Swimming Championships held last November in St. Lucia, where Elinah won 10 medals and collected the OECS high-point award in the girls 11-12 age group. She also established five new OECS records in the girls 11-12 age group. Elinah’s records came in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 50 butterfly, 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley.
 
Amarah won six medals in the 13-14 age group and took third place for the high-point award in her age group.
 
The Scottish Nationals will be held from April 3-6 at the same venue as the Commonwealth Games, while the Carifta Games will be held on April 19-21 in Aruba