Swimmers George Bovell and Shaune Fraser combined with squash star Nicolette Fernandes and cyclist Iona Wynter for four English-speaking Caribbean gold medals on day four of the 20th Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, on Wednesday.
Bovell's gold was Trinidad and Tobago's first at the Games.At the Pedro de Heredia Aquatic Centre, 18-year-old Fraser, of the Cayman Islands, scored a superb win in the 200 metres freestyle, clocking a new Games record of one minute, 49.84 seconds to defeat Mexico's Ivan Lopez (1:51.16).
Fraser surged to the front in the final 40 metres for a win over Lopez, with Bovell who had led for most of the race, fading into third in 1:52.03. Bovell's younger brother, Nicholas, was seventh in 1:56.65.
The elder Bovell, the Olympic 200m individual medley bronze medallist in Athens, would improve on his bronze medal effort with a fine win in the men's 50m freestyle later in the session.
On the comeback trail after surgery last year for a knee injury, Bovell swam a powerful race in the 50 free to snatch victory in 22.67 seconds.
Bovell, the first-ever English-speaking Caribbean Olympic swimming medallist, repelled very strong challenges from Venezuela's Albert Subirats (22.92) and Puerto Rican veteran Ricardo Busquets (23.01) to land gold.
Barbadian Terrence Haynes placed seventh in 23.70 seconds.
Bahamian Jeremy Knowles copped silver for the second night in a row when he contested the men's 200m butterfly.
After placing second to Barbadian Bradley Ally in the 400m IM on Tuesday night, Knowles produced another strong race, finishing fast behind Mexican winner Juan Veloz (1:58.75) to get second in the 200 fly in 2:00.37.
Fraser, just moments after collecting his 200 free gold medal, was also in the line-up and placed sixth in 2:03.80.
The Bahamians seized another medal when their team of Nimia Devaux, Ariel Weech, Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace and Alana Dillette clocked 3:57.22 for the bronze medal in the women's 4x100m freestyle.
Venezuela won in a Games record 3:52.40, ahead of Mexico (3:53.46).
In the women's 50m backstroke, Dillette (30.99) and Barbadian Nathalie Ferdinand (31.85) placed fourth and seventh respectively, as Mexico's Maria Gonzalez landed gold in a games record 30.61 seconds.
Ally and Jamaican Alia Atkinson, with double gold efforts and Barbadian Nicky Neckles, have accounted for the other five gold medals for CARICOM countries in the swimming pool so far.
Guyana's Fernandes won the women's individual squash gold medal, while Jamaican Wynter copped the cycling scratch title.
Fernandes, the England-based Caribbean women's squash champion, showed great fighting spirit to outlast Mexico's Samantha Teran in a come-from-behind 3-2 win for the women's title late Wednesday.
Ranked 38th in the world, Fernandes lost the first two games to Teran but rallied to triumph 5-9, 3-9, 9-7, 9-5, 9-3 for the title.
Wynter, who represented Jamaica in the triathlon at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, registered her biggest win since transforming to a cycling specialist.
She won the women's cycling scratch event ahead of Cuban Yumari and Karella Machado, of Venezuela, to complete a Jamaica sweep of the scratch events.
Her teammate Oneil Samuels had won the men's scratch the previous night.
