Team England add seven more Commonwealth Youth Games medals to their tally

Team England collected seven more podium places to leave them top of the swimming medal table at the Commonwealth Youth Games following the penultimate day of action in the pool at Trinbago 2023.

The swimmers have now won 19 medals at Trinidad’s National Aquatics Centre – seven golds, nine silver and three bronze.

The highlights of another magnificent evening included an impressive victory for the Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Relay team, while Oscar Bilbao completed a clean sweep of the breaststroke events by taking gold in the 100m race.

Bilbao was victorious by only 0.04 seconds as he touched home ahead of Jersey’s Filip Nowacki in 1:03.12.

It ensured he added the 100m title to the 200m he won on the opening day of the swimming competition and the 50m race gold he picked up yesterday.

Sienna ‘did it for England’

Sienna Robinson also claimed her second gold medal of the Games as she triumphed in Women’s 100m Breaststroke.

Robinson, who set a new Youth Games record as she won the 50m gold, said she ‘did it for England’ as she edged out Wales’s Theodora Taylor in a race for the wall.

Only 0.17 seconds separated the top three with Robinson clocking 1:10.29 to top the podium.

She said: “It was good – another great opportunity to race in front of a great crowd in a great atmosphere. 

“I managed to get to the wall first, which is the aim in this competition. It’s not the best time but I’m happy with how I went through my race.

“I did it for England. To be fair, the person who came second I didn’t see. I was just like get to the wall and yeah powered home.

“I’m proud of how controlled I took it out. Right now, I’m not in the position where I can back end things that well but I utilised my easy speed on that first 50 so I could come back as well as I could.

“Even though it wasn’t great, it could have been worse so it was the best I could have been today.”

Skye and Erin lead relay team home

The Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Relay team wrapped up a commanding victory as they stormed to the gold medal by 2.16 seconds ahead of Scotland.

Team England were second and trailing by 0.57 seconds following the opening two legs by Rueben Rowbotham-Keating and Nick Finch.

But Skye Carter’s swim saw them take the lead and they were lead home by Erin Little as they finished first in a time of 3:33.44.

In the Men’s 400m Freestyle, Reece Grady and Harry Wynne-Jones claimed second and third place respectively.

Grady was only 0.55 seconds behind the gold medallist, Wales’s Tyler Melbourne-Smith, as he clocked 3:54.74 to take the silver.

Wynne-Jones comfortably took the bronze, finishing in 3:56.29.

Before playing a key role in the mixed relay success, Finch had picked up an individual silver in the Men’s 100m Butterfly.

He was beaten to the gold by home favourite Zarek Wilson who thrilled the Trinidad crowd by setting a new Youth Games record of 53.70.

Finch was not far behind, however, clocking 53.95 to secure second ahead of South Africa’s Jarden Dylan Eaton.

Adam bags second spot

Adam Graham also earned a silver medal for Team England’s tally in the Men’s 200m Backstroke.

Scotland’s Matthew Ward dominated the race from start to finish, winning gold in a time of 1:59.21.

Graham was his closest challenger but had to settle for second spot as he touched home in 2:02.05.

Team England also secured six other final places during the night.

Ashleigh Baillie was fourth and Little fifth in the Women’s 400m Freestyle, while Baillie also took sixth spot in the Women’s 100m Butterfly – a race in which Carter claimed fourth.

Blythe Kinsman also finished just outside the medals in fourth in the Women’s 200m Backstroke.

In the Women’s 100m Breaststroke, Hannah Bowley took sixth place.

To view all the results, visit the Trinbago 2023 website.