Cayman swimmers head to United Arab Emirates to compete in World Champs

(CMR) The Cayman Islands Aquatic Sports Association (CIASA) shared that Cayman swimmers James Allison, Liam Henry, Lauren Hew, and Alison Jackson are headed to the United Arab Emirates to compete in the FINA Short Course World Championships from December 16-21. Leading the four-person square is new technical director Jacky Pellerin and coach Darren Mew.

Competing for the men, 15-year-old James Allison and college junior Liam Henry are prepped for the freestyle and butterfly. Allision who attends Cayman Islands prep and High School will compete in both the 100m and 200m freestyle in the capital city of Abu Dhabi. He is Cayman's current record holder in the 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle as well as the 50m and 100m butterfly.

Henry, a junior at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida, will be competing in the 50m and 100m butterfly at the World Championships. Henry previously swam for Indian River Junior College. At last year’s NJCAA Championships Henry finished 1st in the 50m fly in 21.98, 2nd in the 100m butterfly in 48.82, 5th in the 200m butterfly in 1:52.84 and 6th in the 100m freestyle in 46.15. His home club is Stingray Swim Club.

Lauren Hew and Alison Jackson will also be making the trip to the U.A.E as the Cayman women’s representatives. Hew is currently a senior at Florida State and will compete in the 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke in Abu Dhabi. Hew holds SCY lifetime bests of 23.04 in the 50m freestyle, 50.78 in the 100m freestyle, 1:50.61 in the 200m freestyle and 55.29 in the 100m backstrokes while competing for the Seminoles. Her home club is the Camana Bay Aquatic Club.

A sophomore at the University of Northern Colorado, Alison Jackson will be competing in the 100m freestyle and 100m IM at the world championships. She holds SCY lifetimes bests of 23.63 in the 50m freestyle, 51.49 in the 100m freestyle and 1:53.55 in the 200m freestyle. Her home club is the Stingray Swim Club.

CIASA said it is delighted to see its swimmers once again representing the Cayman Islands internationally, after a long, two, pandemic impacted years.

Who is CIASA?

CIASA is the recognized national governing body of all aquatic sports (comprised of competitive swimming, open water swimming, diving, high diving, water polo and synchronized swimming) in the Cayman Islands and is an affiliated member of FINA, UANA, CCCAN, Island Games Association of the Cayman Islands, CARIFTA and the Cayman Islands Olympic Committee. Members of the public can obtain more information by emailing [email protected] or visiting the CIASA website at www.ciasa.ky .