A Day To Remember

What started out as a beautiful day at the pool, with hundreds of swimmers and spectators converging at Lion's Pool from all over the Cayman Islands, ended in tragedy this Saturday afternoon along Governor's Beach.ý

Special Olympics athlete Pablo Perez, a 42 year old visiting swimmer from Uruguay, suffered a heart attack midway through the Butterfield 800m Sea Swim and was pulled out of the water by his coach and a team of rescuers. Doctors worked hard in an attempt to resuscitate Perez on the beach, and later at the hospital, but were unsuccessful. He was accompanied to the island by his coach, and a host of other Special Olympics athletes and coaches from around the Caribbean and the America's this weekend for the Butterfield Sea Swim as well as an SO clinic on open water swimming.

I am proud of how our swimmers competed this weekend. There were many personal bests, victories and records at both the Lion's Sprint Meet and the Butterfield Sea Swim. The day was tragic, no doubt, and our hearts and thoughts go out to Pablo's family and all who knew him and cared for him. I know this incident has affected many of our swimmers who were there and took part in the event, but remember that as sad as this may be, we can take some solace in knowing that Pablo passed away while doing something he loved and cherished, surrounded by people who cared for him and loved him deeply.

Thank you to everyone who helped out over this weekend and made our meet at the pool such a success. And thank you Mrs. Penny McDowall and Mrs. Maxine Everson for everything you have done to bring joy and happiness to the lives of athletes who partake in Special Olympics here on the island.

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