SPORTS SECTION E
MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2026
WORLD CUP - PAGE 4
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Mako wins 8th straight title !"#!$%&'#(')!!( *+,-.#(/0123#%4,201 bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
MAKO Aquatics capped off another sensational performance, winning their eighth straight Bahamas Aquatics National Swimming Championship title over the weekend at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex. In a dominating feat, Mako Aquatics accumulated a total of 3,059 points to beat their nearest rival Blue Waves Swim Club, who captured second place with 1,347.50 at the end of the 54th edition of the fourday meet yesterday. Mako also accumulated a total of 259 medals,
including 108 gold, 85 silver and 75 bronze. Alpha Aquatics got second with 75 medals, including 26 gold, 29 silver and 20 bronze. "I am very proud of these swimmers. It's been a long rough year," said Mako's head coach Travano McPhee. "All of the swimmers stayed composed over the four days, so I'm very proud of them. "The senior swimmers took the time out to come home during the end of the collegiate season and they really performed very well. Big shout out to them. "And I was also pleased with our younger swimmers, the eight and unders, like Nya Ferguson, breaking
five national records this weekend. “She's the future, so I'm very proud of her as well." No other club than Swift Swimming, which was established back in the 1990s by the husband and wife team of Andy and Nancy Knowles, has been as dominant as Mako Aquatics. Despite their huge margin of victory, McPhee commended the other swim clubs in the meet, including the Blue Waves, who were hot on their trail all season. Alpha Aquatics came in third with 1,168 points, Black Marlins Swim Club was fourth with 1,012, Barracuda Swim Club fifth with 697, Lyford Swim Club 6th
with 538, Lightning Aquatics 7th with 404, Mantas Swim and Water Polo 8th with 292.50, Freeport Aquatics 9th with 98 and Beast Aquatics 10th with 85. In the medal count, Lyford Swim Club was 3rd with 43 medals (22 gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze), Black Mantas was 4th with 73 medals (19 gold, 20 silver and 34 bronze) and the Blue Waves rounded out the top five with 91 medals (18 gold, 35 silver and 38 bronze). The meet also saw the participation of at least three of the proposed six swimmers who are expected to be a part of the team going to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, at the end of July, namely Lamar
Taylor, Marvin Johnson and Rhanishka Gibbs. Bahamas Aquatics president Algernon Cargill called it one of its best nationals hosted in quite some time, especially with the amount of international swimmers who participated. "More importantly, we can see that The Bahamas will be well poised to win CARIFTA in 2027, based on the performances that we saw here over the past four days," he said. "We have some swimmers going to the Commonwealth Games, the CAC Games and the World Short Course Championships in China. We are excited about the expectations for Lamar Taylor,
based on what he did in this meet and Marvin Johnson is rounding out in great shape. So it was a great meet for us overall." In breaking five national records, Nya Ferguson of the Mako Aquatics Club scored a total of 58 points to win the high point trophy in the girls’ 8 and under division. The Blue Waves got second and third from Payton Bostwick and Charlotte King with 50 and 43 points respectively. Mason Sadowski of Lyford Swim Club captured the boys’ 8 and under high point with 63 points, Mako's Sydney Nelson was second with 43 and Gevon Moss of the Blue Waves was third with 37.
Christal Taylor-Finlay dies suddenly at 40 !"#!$%&'#(')!!( *+,-.#(/0123#%4,201 !"#$!!"%#&'!$()*)+',-()# CHRISTAL Taylor-Finlay has left the sporting community, especially softball and track and field, in a state of shock after the sudden death of the former athlete turned official on Saturday. The 40-year-old who was employed at the Port
Department and Public Prosecutions was married to Addie Finlay, the new president of the New Providence Softball Association and one of the leading umpires in softball and track and field, on August 22, 2024. When you saw one, you saw the other in a relationship that spanned some 18 years when they first got together as a softball coach (Finlay) and player
(Taylor-Finlay) in the NPSA and the Bahamas Government Departmental Softball Association. "She was more than just a wife. We share the same ideas. She was my soulmate around the sport of softball. I coached her and umpired with her," Finlay said. "We go home after a game and go over every play discussing the game until morning. She will
stand her ground on what she thinks is the right call." Among others left to mourn in her immediate family are her mother Diana Pierre, father veteran baseball player Gregory 'Rat' Taylor and her three sons Dion Major, Aden Taylor and Chaddie Finlay. Thomas Sears, an international certified softball umpire who has worked with the Finlays, called her
"a wonderful person who gave of herself to the New Providence Softball community as a player, official and executive. "Her presence will be missed from around the various ballparks and leagues where she played and officiated. Sincere condolences to her beloved husband Addie, children, family, friends and teammates. May her soul rest in eternal peace."
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Elite athletes Shaunae and Noble Prep Devynne on the fast track students earn !"#!$%&'#(')!!( *+,-.#(/0123#%4,201 !"#$!!"% #&'!$()*)+',-()# ELITE athletes Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Devynne Charlton produced varied results at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial over the weekend, following the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations' National Track and Field Championships last weekend. Miller-Uibo, who skipped the Nationals to compete in the Star Athletics Sprint Series at the Horizon High School in Winter Garden, Florida, won the women's 200m in 22.10 seconds at the World Athletics Continental Tour in Zagreb, Croatia, on Friday. Miller-Uibo's time, which was faster than Quincy Penn's winning time of 23.53 at the Nationals, easily beat out the field that saw American Thelma Davis come in second in a season's best of 20.75, while Jael Bestue of Spain was third in 22.80 in Rabat. Miller-Uibo, the twotime Olympic and once World Championship gold medallist in the 400m, went
into the meet with a season's best of 22.04. She is continuing to work her way back to form after having her second child last year. The Bahamian national record holder at 21.74 said she was quite pleased with how the race went. "We are just working on a lot of things in training, training to get the speed up from the beginning and to get the positions familiar again," Miller-Uibo said. "It's still all over the place. At the Star Athletics Sprint Series last weekend, Miller-Uibo, who ran the 100m in 11.05 to finish second behind American Sha'Carri Richardson's time of 10.77, said the focus right now is on her speed. "Rabat was added last minute…, so in between this and China, I flew back home," Miller-Uibo pointed out. "We are still trying to figure out the schedule with the family. Now I will be in Europe for a bit." Charlton, the runner-up at the Nationals behind Denisha Cartwright in the women's 100m hurdles, was fourth in the same
scholarships !"#!$%&'#(')!!( *+,-.#(/0123#%4,201 !"#$!!"%#&'!$()*)+',-()#
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event in 12.62 behind an American trio in Rabat. Alayshe Johnson took the tape in a meet record of 12.43 in a photo finish that saw Rayniah Jones getting second in the same time for her personal best. Alia Armstrong got third in her season’s best of 12.51. Jones, in her post event interview, had nothing but praise for Charlton. "I know that anytime I'm next to Charlton, I have to really lock in and make sure that I have the cleanest start that I can have," said Johnson, who ran out of lane three with
Charlton in four and Jones and Armstrong in fifth and six respectively. "She's an amazing starter, everybody else on the line has their own strengths. and honestly, it's just really about me getting over those 10 barriers clean and just fighting to the end." Charlton, the world indoor 60m hurdles twotime champion and record holder, went into the meet with the fastest time of all of the competitors having lowered her Bahamian national record to 12.37 at the Xiamen Diamond League on May 23.
NOBLE Preparatory Academy continues to grow by leaps and bounds, assisting in the development of a number of student-athletes as they attain scholarships to attend college and universities in Canada and the United State of America. Kymani Syonette, Ashton Edwards, Marciano Culmer and Lionel Rolle are the latest graduates to benefit from their experiences at NPA. NPA president Geno Bullard, who also coaches the majority of the athletes, said the student-athletes making the transition this year will do very well in moving on in their careers. "The preparations we have given them here at Noble Preparatory Academy are second to none, so I know that they won't survive their college experiences," he said. "As for their athletes and athleticism, I feel on any given day, any of these athletes can be successful in whatever they
endeavour with their proper planning." Nairn, who has assisted a number of Bahamians in attaining scholarships overseas, said he trusts these athletes and is confident in their abilities to be successful in the future and that they will continue to inspire other student-athletes whom they leave here at home. Lionel Rolle At age 17, Rolle said his experience at NPA has been very positive and very encouraging and will inspire him as he pursues his degree in computer programming and analysis at Niagara College. "My expectations for college is to complete the programme and get my degree," said the talented basketball player. Rolle advised the student-athletes still at home to "learn to listen and listen to learn, stay focused, and don’t get discouraged.""I would like to thank Mr and Mrs Bullard and my parents for supporting me throughout this journey," he said. "I would like to thank the
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