Littlepage looks for big swim headlines

The last time John-Stanley Littlepage made headlines was last year when he beat the field to win the Maracas Open Water Swim. Now the 17-year-old is set to return to the spotlight as a member of the Amateur Swimming Association of Trinidad and Tobago’s (ASATT) team to the Caribbean Island Swimming Championships (CISC) in Jamaica. The Marlins Swim Club athlete has been kept busy in the build-up to the meet where he will attempt to qualify for the 1500 metre freestyle event at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Littlepage has showed promise with the Games looming.

At the recent Carifta Games in April, Littlepage grabbed the gold in the Individual Medley and 1500 metre Freestyle events  and picked a further three silver medals as the Trinidad and Tobago team rallied to a gold medal performance. Recently in Barbados, Littlepage took gold in the 1500, 400 and 200 metres Freestyle events and put in silver medal performances in the 200 metres Butterfly and the 40 metres Individual Medley. He was also part of three relay teams which also took silver. With the National 1500 metres Freestyle record (16.47) under his belt, a string of superb performances and a training regimen which puts him in the pool twice a day from Monday to Friday, Littlepage is in the best shape of his life and looks for qualification.

Of his team-mates he says there is a good balance with especial quality to be found in the seniors, among them Nicholas and George Bovell and Sharntelle Mc Lean who have all qualified for the Olympic Games. Though it is his first time at the meet, Littlepage appeared none too bothered by what awaits him and stated quite matter of factly that he will face the stiffest opposition from Puerto Rico’s distance swimmers. He also noted that the home team, Jamaica, though full of individual talent may not be a challenge in the overall competition so it remains a mix up between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago for the top overall team. Littlepage has been training to facilitate the higher speeds he is expected to clock in order to qualify and knows that he must call on this training to see him through to the Olympic Games where he will face Australia’s Grant Hackett who is the world record holder.

While, due to the brashness of youth, most athletes on a similar run would have aspirations of beating the world champ on the first attempt, Littlepage does not allow this to cloud his reason and lists the Olympics as a learning experience for the future which will shape him for further endeavour in the pool. His immediate objectives include the defence of his Maracas and Cruce a Nado Open Water Race titles both carded for September. The Cruce a Nado race in early September is an international event and will serve as a warm-up for the Maracas swim. For now the joint captain, along with Matthew Houllier, Linda Mc Eachrane and Aisha Collymore, will focus on his time over 1500 metres as he takes up a leadership position and seeks to blow the competition out of the water. The Trinidad and Tobago team leaves on Tuesday for Jamaica and is in good spirits ahead of the age-group championships from July 2-6.