Rising sophomore Jemal LeGrand turned in a pair of medals at the 2014 Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships this past week (June 27 – July 7) at the Aquatic Centre in Barbados.
While representing Aruba, the 2012 Olympian first grabbed gold in his specialty in the 200m free with a time of 1:54.77, which was a ‘B’ qualifying time for the Central American and Caribbean games in November.
LeGrand closed out his games with a silver medal showing in the 100m free, swimming a time of 52.42.
“I am very happy that Jemal is continuing his international experiences this summer,” Bradley said. “This was great way for him to be competitive for his country. He’s still on that learning curve, but we’re looking for him to continue his development so he can continue to contribute on an elite level this season.”
LeGrand also placed 11th in the 50 free with a 24.71.
LeGrand’s teammate, Daniella Van den Berg who will be joining the Seminoles as a freshman in the fall, grabbed four individual gold medals in the 15-17 age group while helping Aruba to the gold in the 800 free relay.
Van den Berg was first victorious in the 800m free by a 14-second margin, turning in a time of 9:12.12. She also won the 200m free (2:09.02), 400m free (4:29.93) and 400m IM (5:09.40) races while adding silver in the 200m fly (2:25.99).
“Daniella will be a good addition to our depth,” Bradley said. “We have a good amount of newcomers joining our team this fall and she has the ability to swim some different events, which will be beneficial for us. This was a great meet for her to experience before she arrives in Tallahassee.”
