2023 Swammy Awards: CAC Male Swimmer of the Year: Dylan Carter, Trinidad & Tobago

See all of our 2023 Swammy Awards here.

2023 MALE CENTRAL AMERICAN & CARIBBEAN SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: DYLAN CARTER, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Dylan Carter continued through 2023 as one of the most successful swimmers in history from Central America and the Caribbean.

In February, Carter raced at the 2023 Jalisco International Swimming Cup, taking first in the 100 free in a 49.18, making him the only swimmer in the field to go under 50-seconds in the race where he split the race 24.05/25.13. The 100 freestyle also registered as a FINA ‘A’ cut, qualifying Carter for his third Olympic Games next summer in Paris. Carter went on to take second in the 50 free (22.47) and third in the 50 fly (23.70). Notably, the location of the meet, Zapopan, Jalisco (MX) has an average altitude of 5,154 feet, whereas Colorado Springs has an average altitude of 6,035 feet.

At the first stop of the 2023 Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Carter lowered his own National Record in the 100 freestyle, clocking a 48.28 to win the race, besting British superstar Matt Richard’s and Team USA’s Hunter Armstrong in the process. Carter would later tie Michael Andrew for gold in the 50 fly with a 23.25. Though Carter only swam in one of four Pro Swim Series meets, he would emerge with the fastest time of the series in the 100 free and hold the fastest time in the 50 fly alongside Michael Andrew.

Opting out of the remainder of the Pro Swim Series, Carter went on to race at the Mare Nostrum series in Canet, Barcelona, and Monaco before competing at the 2023 AP Race International Meet in London, remaining consistent with his times, and finishing the spree with a victory in the 50 free in 22.24 in London.

Carter posted a new lifetime best and Meet Record in the 50 freestyle at the 2023 Central American & Caribbean Games, clocking a 21.87. Carter also topped the podium in the 100 freestyle (48.49), another Games Record, and 50 butterfly (23.32), and also took home a silver in the 50 backstroke (25.55). Carter was the only swimmer in the field sub-22 in the 50 free and sub-49 in the 100 free. Carter also helped Trinidad & Tobago to a bronze medal finish in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay, leading off in 48.65, the fastest split in the field.

Carter kept the momentum rolling at the 2023 FINA World Championships where he again lowered his own National Record in the 100 freestyle with a 48.16 in prelims, advancing to the semifinals as the 10th seed, where he later placed 16th in a 48.60. He also competed in the 50 fly, posting a 22.89 in prelims, just 0.05 off his National Record from 2022, qualifying third overall going into the semifinals, where he would tie for eight with Simon Bucher of Austria, resulting in a swim-off where Bucher would get the better of Carter, 23.10 to 23.26.

Carter placed 10th overall among men in the 2023 FINA World Cup standings, accumulating a total of 125.3 points. Carter tied for second in the 50 fly at the Berlin stop of the World Cup and also took third in the 100 free. In Athens, Carter picked up another bronze, this time in the 50 free, as well as a silver in the 100 free. Carter finished the World Cup with another silver in the 100 free in Budapest.

To top it all off, Carter blasted a 21.69 in the 50 LCM freestyle at the 2023 Aquatic Sports Association of Trinidad & Tobago Invitational Championships, which would have placed 4th at the FINA World Championships, which is also a FINA ‘A’ cut for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Carter won the men’s 50 free the following day in a 21.99, making him the only swimmer sub-23 in the field.

This is Carter’s fourth time winning the Swammy for Male Central American and Caribbean Swimmer of the Year.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Miguel de Lara, Mexico: De Lara picked up three individual gold medals at the 2023 Central American & Caribbean Games, setting Games Records in each. De Lara tied for first in the 50 breast (27.51), and won the 100 decisively (1:00.23), touching the wall first by over a second, as well as the 200 (2:10.85), winning gold by over two seconds. De Lara also helped Mexico to victories in the men’s 4 x 100 medley relay as well as the mixed 4 x 100 medley relay, powering Mexico to the top of the medal table. De Lara placed 17th in the 50 breaststroke at the 2023 World Championships in a new National Record time of 27.38, he also finished 22nd in the 200 breast in 2:12.40, as well as 25th in the 100 in 1:01.02. De Lara capped off his season by finishing third in the 100 breast at the Pan American Games in a time of 1:00.90, as well as 9th in the 200 breast in 2:13.22, which would have placed 4th in the ‘A’ final.
• Lamar Taylor, Bahamas: Taylor picked up a pair of bronze medals in the 50 free at both the Pan American Games and the Central American & Caribbean Games. Taylor also won gold in the 50 backstroke at the CAC Games. In total, Taylor set four Bahamian Records in 2023: the 50 freestyle twice (22.26, World Championships; 22.13, PanAms), the 50 backstroke (25.08, CAC Games), and the 100 backstroke (56.47, Bahamian National Championships).
• Mikel Schreuders, Aruba: Schreuders shined at the 2023 CAC Games, tying for gold in the 50 breaststroke with the aforementioned de Lara in a Games Record time of 27.51, and also took home two silvers in the 50 and 100 freestyle, as well as the 50 fly, all behind Dylan Carter. Schreuders swam four individual events 2023 FINA World Championships, recording finishes of 17th, 18th, 22nd, and 27th, with his lowest finish, the 50 fly, coming in as a new Aruban National Record (23.65). Schreuders finished the year with another National Record in the 50 freestyle at the U.S. Open, stopping the clock in 21.93, and a couple of weeks later in the 50 breaststroke, clocking a 26.98 at the Meeting of Hortillons in Amiens, France.
• Jordan Crooks, Cayman Islands: Crooks started the year with a bang in the yards pool, clocking a 17.93 at the 2023 SEC Championships to become just the second swimmer ever to go sub-18 seconds in the 50 yard freestyle. Crooks also posted a jaw-dropping 18.90 50 butterfly split on the 200 medley relay at SECs, becoming the first man ever to split sub-19 seconds in the effort. Crooks would later claim the NCAA title in the 50 freestyle. Crooks qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games when he posted a 47.77 in prelims and a 47.71 in the semifinals of the 100 freestyle at the 2023 FINA World Championships, each swim representing a National Record. Crooks would place 7th in the final with a 47.94. Crooks posted a 21.90 in the prelims of the 50 free, and then a 21.73 in the semifinals, each time a National Record. Crooks equaled his time of 21.73 in the final for an overall 6th-place finish. Crooks and Carter were the only male CAC swimmers to advance beyond the prelims at the 2023 World Championships, the most prestigious competition of the year.

PREVIOUS WINNERS:

• 2022 – Jordan Crooks, Cayman Islands
• 2021 – Dylan Carter, Trinidad & Tobago
• 2020 – Dylan Carter, Trinidad & Tobago
• 2019 – Ricardo Vargas, Mexico
• 2018 – Dylan Carter, Trinidad & Tobago
• 2017 – Mauro Castillo-Luna, Mexico
• 2016 – Marcelo Acosta, El Salvador
• 2015 – (Vacant — combined South American and CAC Award, Thiago Pereira of Brazil won)
• 2014 – George Bovell, Trinidad & Tobago