SANTO DOMINGO--St. Maarten’s four swimmers completed their final races at the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games with improved performances in the 50-metre breaststroke.
After advancing from the preliminary round, Emmbriel Flanders, Sevastian Williams, Adaya Bourne and Aiyana Bourne competed in the B finals against swimmers from across the region. All four either improved or closely matched their qualifying times.
Flanders produced the strongest improvement of the St. Maarten team. After qualifying in 32.53 seconds, he returned for the men’s 50-metre breaststroke B final and finished second in 31.54 seconds, cutting 0.99 seconds from his preliminary time.
Williams also improved in the men’s B final, finishing fourth in 39.67 seconds. His qualifying time was 39.77 seconds, giving him a 0.10-second improvement in the final.
In the women’s 50-metre breaststroke B final, Adaya Bourne placed fifth in 36.70 seconds. She had qualified in 37.23 seconds and lowered her time by 0.53 seconds.
Aiyana Bourne finished sixth in the same final in 37.27 seconds, almost matching her qualifying performance of 37.28 seconds.
The St. Maarten swimmers faced a high regional standard. Mexico’s Andres Puente won the men’s A final in 27.74 seconds, while Mexico’s Byanca Rodriguez won the women’s A final in 31.35 seconds.
Although the St. Maarten athletes did not compete in the medal final, qualifying for the evening session gave them another opportunity to race under championship conditions and measure themselves against some of the region’s leading swimmers.
The results also provided encouraging signs for the young delegation. Three of the four swimmers lowered their qualifying times, while Aiyana remained within one-hundredth of a second of her preliminary performance.
The Games offered the swimmers valuable experience with race preparation, starts, underwater phases, stroke efficiency and finishing under pressure. Their performances also established clear benchmarks as they continue their development and work toward closing the gap with the region’s more experienced competitors.
