Athletes set to hit the water at Pan Am Games
(CNS Local Life): Jesse Jackson, Cayman’s lone sailor at the Pan Am Games, is preparing for his five days of laser standard competition which start Saturday, 3 August, in Paracas Bay, Peru, a four-hour drive south of the main venue in Lima, with the swim team’s events set to begin three days later.
Jackson has spent the last few days familiarising himself with conditions in Paracas, saying, “Overall, the speed looks good and I’m looking forward to this event.”
Representing Cayman in the pool are John Bodden, Lauren Hew and Brett Fraser. Bodden will be the first of the three to compete, starting his Games 6 August; over the five days of pool competition, he is slated for the 400m freestyle, 200m butterfly and 1,500m freestyle. Hew and Fraser start their events the day after, in the 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly, respectively, with both also competing in the 100m and 50m freestyle.
Sprinter Keman Hyman will also be competing 6 August, in the prelims for the 100m, in hopes of making it to the semifinals in the event which will be held the next day.
Gymnast Raegan Rutty, at 17 the youngest member of the team, was Cayman’s first athlete to compete in the Games, with events taking place Saturday, 27 July, a day after the opening ceremony. Though happy with her performance at her biggest competition to date, she was unable to qualify for the individual apparatus finals.
