Hew sets national records at FINA championships

Lauren Hew

Lauren Hew set a pair of Cayman Islands national short course records on Tuesday, 6 December, at the 2016 FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Windsor, Ontario.

In the women’s 100-metre backstroke Hew, 17, finished second in her heat with a time of one minute, 3.35 seconds. That was one hundredth of a second better than the mark Lara Butler set at the 2013 Island Games in Bermuda (1:03.36). She touched the wall second in the heat but her time was 46th overall and not fast enough to advance.

Ali Jackson is competing at her first world championships.

Ali Jackson is competing at her first world championships.

14 year-old Ali Jackson also swam in the 100-metre backstroke and finished eighth in her heat with a personal best time of 1:07.30.

Hew and Jackson also competed in the women’s 200-metre freestyle. Hew was third in her heat this time around with a time of 2:03.46, breaking the six-year old mark of 2:04.61 Butler set at the 2010 FINA World Championships in Dubai.

Both of Hew’s times were also Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association (CIASA) records.

Sid Cassidy, who coaches Hew at St Andrews School in Florida, said prior to the championships that the 17 year-old has shown great progress in recent weeks.

“She’s really improved her underwater technique. Her transition off the turns is something that we’ve spent lots of time on and she has responded very well,” Cassidy told CaymanSportsBuzz.com. “Everything I’ve seen from her has been very positive.”

Jackson, swimming at her first world championships, was sixth in her heat with a time of 2:12.57, off the pace of the national record for the 14-15 girls age category (2:12.39) she set in February. Neither swimmer qualified for the semifinals.

Alex McCallum.

Alex McCallum.

Cayman’s only male swimmer at the championships, Alex McCallum swam in the 100-metre backstroke. Despite having the quickest reaction time in his heat, McCallum finished sixth of 10 swimmers in a time of 58.38 seconds. He, too, did not advance despite setting a personal best.

Meantime, Hew and Jackson are back in the pool on Wednesday for the women’s 100-metre freestyle, while McCallum has a day’s break between events. All three are scheduled to swim on Thursday: McCallum in the men’s 50-metre backstroke; Jackson in the women’s 100-metre individual medley; and Hew in the women’s 200-metre backstroke.

CaymanSportsBuzz.com will have more on the championships as the meet progresses.

2 Comments

  1. Pingback: Hew, Jackson break more records in the pool – Cayman Sports Buzz

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