Kiwi swimmer Amelia Bray has won New Zealand’s first medal at the Trinbago 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games, claiming silver in the 50m Butterfly.
The Auckland swimmer placed second in her heat to qualify for the final in a time of 27.42. Bray then slashed almost half a second off her heat time, clocking a rapid 27.00s in the final to win silver.
“My nerves were definitely there ahead of the final,” said Bray.
“Once I got on block I felt good and then when I touched that wall and saw my time I felt very proud and accomplished.”
South Africa’s Jessica Thompson won gold in 26.84s, with Australia’s Mikayla Bird third in 27.07s.
“I’m really happy to win a medal for New Zealand and I hope that sets the tone for all the amazing performances coming up this week.”
Bray attended the Opening Ceremony on Friday evening and says she’s having a brilliant time at the Games.
“The vibe has been amazing, it’s such a cool experience definitely once in a lifetime and I’m so grateful to be here with this team.”
Bray’s teammates Hannah Adbou, Kevin Zhang and Larn Hamblyn-Ough also made finals on day one of the swimming competition at Trinbago. Abdou placed sixth in the 200m Freestyle finals in 2:06.50s. In the men’s division of the same event Zhang placed 5th in 1:51.83s.
New Zealand Team Flagbearer Hamblyn-Ough placed sixth in the gruelling 1500m Freestyle in a time of 16:00.49s.
The full New Zealand Team schedule and results are available here.
Bray is back in pool tomorrow 100m Freestyle.
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