Brett Fraser was in great form at the World Short Course (25 metre) swimming championships setting a national record in every event that he swam for a grand total of seven new records.
In the 50 metre backstroke he lowered national teammate Andrew Mackay’s 2002 Championship and national record time of 26.85 to 26.17. He also had the best placing of a Cayman Islands swimmer since 2000 in the event as he placed 33rd topping Mackay’s 34th showing in 2002 in Moscow. He also had the third best time by a CARIFTA swimmer since the new millennium at these championships only topped by the Bahamas’ Chris Vythoulkas 26.10 (2006 China) and Nicky Neckles 25.71 Barbados (2002 Moscow).
The 100 metre backstroke also another Mackay 2002 Championship and national standard fall to Fraser as he crushed the previous standard of 56.80 to record 55.84 for 29th place . In this event only Neckles at 55.08 (2002) is above Brett for best CARIFTA time at these championships in the last eight years.
The 200 metre backstroke saw yet the last of Mackay’s backstroke standards fall as Brett slashed the 2:02.17 national record done at the 2003 Island Games to record 2:00.17 for 19th place. On the CARIFTA rankings from 2000 backstroke kingpin Nicky Neckles has pole position with his 1:58.12 (2002) followed closely by George Gleason 158.18 (2002) with Fraser now third.
In the freestyle events Fraser destroyed his own 2004 record 50 metre record of 24.70 to power his way to 23.08 for 39th ranking overall. Only Trinidad and Tobago star George Bovell with semi final swim of 21.77 has a faster time than Brett since 2000. In the 100 metre freestyle Brett secured the best CARIFTA time this millennium when he clocked 50 .09 for 35th place beating the previous best of 50.91 by Damian Alleyne when he placed 40th in 2002. This in addition to beating his 2007 national record of 54.78. In the 200 metre freestyle he again shattered a national record when raced past his 2007 time of 1:56.29 to record 1:50.05. He again edged Alleyne 1:51.38 but this time for third overall by a CARIFTA swimmer since 2000 only bettered by Bovell 1:47.62 (2002) and US Virgin Islands George Gleason 1:47.69(2002). In the 400 metre freestyle he edged older brother Shaune Fraser’s standard of 4:01.83 set at the Island Games 2003 to record 4:00.74. That time puts only behind Alleyne’s 2002 Championship time of 4:00.36.
Fraser a freshman at the University of Florida has seen his swimming performance on the upswing from 2007 especially in the backstroke events where he swept the backstroke events at CARIFTA 2007 in Jamaica and recently set national long course records in the 100 and 200 metre backstroke events and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. With older brother Shaune setting a new national record and Olympic qualifying mark in the 100 metre butterfly with a time of 54.42 at a meet in Ohio both Frasers will be representing Cayman at this year’s Games. Hopefully they will be joined by the Cayman Islands first ever qualifier Andrew Mackay in the individual medley events. With the addition of Joel Rombough the Cayman Islands should have a formidable medley relay with the possible line up being Brett on the backstroke Rombough breastroke, MacKay the butterfly and Shaune the freestyle leg to threaten the CARIFTA big three in recent years in this event Barbados, Bahamas and the US Virgin Islands.
