Christian homes in on Stingrays swim awards

Christian Paul Homer was been named “Swimmer of the Year” at the St Michael’s Stingrays Swim Club’s annual awards ceremony. This was staged on Saturday at the Kolumbo Restaurant, Sutton Street, San Fernando. Homer’s succesful year included the national 50 metre freestyle and backstroke records and a two award haul at the 2003 Maracas Open Water Swim. He was named the club’s “Most Outstanding Swimmer” (Male) and the “Swimmer of the Year.”  Homer set a record of 34:43 seconds in the backstroke and 29:05 in the freestyle hours apart of each other. And he represented Trinidad and Tobago at the annual Goodwill Meet in Suriname and fell below the top four only twice during the course of the year in over fifty finals.

At the Maracas Open Water Swim, Homer was first in the 9-10 age group and third overall among the Under-13 swimmers. On merit of three first places, three second spots and one third placing, Homer asserted himself as the national and southern Caribbean age group champion and the club’s unanimous choice for the “Swimmer of the Year.” Meagan Mark captured the “Most Outstanding Swimmer” (Female) award for her 38:46 timing in the 50-metre freestyle in January and an improvement on that mark in October at La Joya where she returned a time of 33:45 in the same event.

Showing a natural talent, Mark also improved on her 36:34 seconds performance in Barbados to 33:58 at ASATT’s Invitational three weeks ago where she was also placed in the top eight in all her events. Feature speaker and head coach of Blue Dolphins Swim Club, Edmund Pouchet outlined that “talent is 99 percent hard work” and called on all achievers to improve on their 2003 performances. Pouchet urged the swimmers to attain consistency in the year ahead.