Logan Watson-Brown and Connor Hupman add to CCCAN Championships medals
Logan Watson-Brown and Connor Hupman added two more medals for Bermuda after securing bronze in their respective 200m freestyle races at the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships in Mexico.
Hupman, 15, the island’s star performer at this year’s Carifta Aquatics Championships in the Bahamas, where he picked up seven medals, was pleased to win bronze at a more prestigious event.
“I feel really great especially with more competition from bigger countries,’’ Hupman told The Royal Gazette.
“Unlike Carifta, it’s a bigger challenge with stronger competition and it feels great to place up on the podium and represent Bermuda well.
“I was a little bit nervous but I knew I had a good chance. I just had to push through and keep up with the leading pack.
“The top two were quite far ahead, they were really fast and gave me strong competition.
“This is the second time going to CCCAN, but this is the first time that I've won a medal and it certainly feels like a much bigger accomplishment for me.
“I’m aiming for two more medals in the 50m freestyle and the 100m freestyle, so I’ll try my best to bring those home.”
Watson-Brown, 21, has been competing at CCCAN since she was 12, but the thrill of winning a medal for the island never goes away.
“I always enjoy swimming for Bermuda and being able to earn a medal and have that accomplishment under my belt is really nice,’’ she said.
“I went into the race pretty open-minded and confident about the training I've done throughout the years. I went in with a positive mindset, raced it hard and gave it all I had.
“I think I can win two more medals and it would be such a nice accomplishment if I manage to do that.”
Meanwhile, Alberto, the first tropical storm of the Atlantic season, has caused a cancellation of the action planned for Thursday.
With the storm expected to cause flooding in Monterrey, where the meet is taking place, organisers have taken extra precautions, including no medal presentations on Wednesday, with all the participants ordered to stay indoors on Thursday.
Action will resume on Friday and conclude on Saturday, with the last two days to have longer periods of competition to make up for the lost time.