Max Wilson jumped three spots in rankings for the Men’s 200m Medley on Wednesday to wrap up Team Virgin Islands (ISV) swimmers’ competitions during the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, the Virgin Islands Olympic Committee announced.
Wilson entered his final event ranked 20th but ended on a higher note when he posted a time of 2:07.75, which propelled him into the 17th spot out of 27 swimmers, according to the press release.
The Santiago 2023 Games may not have netted any medals for Team ISV swimmers, but Coach John Vasbinder sees the experience as a positive one. “Overall, they did well for a mid-season meet,” Vasbinder said. “We’ve never had swimmers make the finals, but two swimmers did! I’m pleased with the efforts they showed in the pool.”
Wilson made the Finals B for the Men’s 100m Backstroke and the Men’s 200m Backstroke events and Natalia Kuipers made the Finals B Heat for the Women’s 400m Freestyle event, the press release stated.
For the finals, the top 16 are recognized, but the top eight competitors compete for the medals. Although Vasbinder always shoots for the hardware, he said he’ll take the small victory of making the finals. “The plan was always to make the finals,” Vasbinder stated. “We knew top eight would be tough, but the excitement of coming back to the finals was what we wanted — to hear the V.I. announced!”
Team ISV consisted of two males and a female for Santiago 2023:
Males
- Max Wilson — swam three events: 100m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke and 200m Individual Medley.
- Adriel Sanes — swam four events: 100m Butterfly, 100m Breaststroke, 200m Breaststroke and 50m Freestyle.
Female
- Natalia Kuipers — swam three events: 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle and 400m Freestyle.
Wilson and Kuipers are both actively involved in swimming for their college programs as Wilson is a key member of the Florida State University team and Kuipers swims for Bryant University. Sanes, who has completed his years of eligibility, started at the University of Denver and finished at Auburn University. Sanes now has the challenge of balancing his training with his work schedule, according to the release.
Next up for Vasbinder in life with swimming is the Virgin Islands Swimming Federation’s Championships scheduled for St. Thomas Nov. 3-5. Teams from St. Thomas, St. Croix and the British Virgin Islands are expected to participate. The event will host the best swimmers in all age groups and more than 100 participants are expected, it said.
The VISF Championship will be followed by the Puerto Rico Championships, scheduled for Dec. 1-3. V.I. swimmers will end their season as they attend an event in Atlanta, Georgia, Dec. 13-16, the release stated.