Trinidad and Tobago Olympic swimmer Dylan Carter says he and his coaches will need to do a post-mortem on his outing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which saw him exiting the men's 50-metre and 100-metre freestyle events in the opening round of competition.
Carter, 28, was the first TT athlete to seal qualification for the Olympics, having achieved the qualifying standard at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale in March 2023. Carter also showed decent form in the build-up to the games, capturing five medals at the three-leg World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in October 2023 — inclusive of two silver medals and a bronze in the 100m freestyle.
At the preceding Swimming World Cup in 2022, Carter earned the title of best male swimmer.
In Paris, though, Carter placed 34th overall in the 100m freestyle after finishing last in his heat on July 30. He then swam to a 29th-placed finish in the 50m freestyle after finishing sixth in his heat on August 1 — missing out on the top 16 semifinal places in the process.
"It wasn't the Olympics we all dreamed of. I think that's the elephant in the room, but I'm very confident in my teammates on this team and the other athletes in (TT) that our best days are ahead of us," Carter said on August 14, during a welcome ceremony at the VIP room at the Piarco International Airport for seven athletes from TT's 17-member contingent at the July 26-August 11 games.
Carter was joined in the welcome ceremony by sprinters Michelle-Lee Ahye, Devin Augustine and Akilah Lewis, as well as quarter-milers Elijah Joseph and Renny Quow, and cyclist Nicholas Paul, who brought TT's participation at the Paris Olympics to an end with a quarterfinal finish in the men's keirin event on August 11. The athletes were accompanied by support staff which included manager Dexter Voisin and chef de mission Lovie Santana- Duke.
The 32-year-old Ahye, who criticised members of the TT public for their lack of support following her exit from the women's 100m heats in Paris, declined the opportunity to speak to the media during the welcome ceremony.
Carter said there were things he needed to work on to see better returns at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
"I will work with my coach and my team and do a good post-mortem. We have to look back at the past six months brutally honestly and assess how we prepared and how we move forward," said Carter.
"I think that's the best way to go forward — to look back. We need to identify where we made mistakes and things we can improve."
Carter will press the reset button before diving into his review of Paris performances, as he said he'll need about two to three weeks to get his mind and body right before getting back down to business.
Carter promised brighter days ahead for both he and Team TTO, and he thanked Santana-Duke and her support staff for their "phenomenal" and "tireless" work over the past four years.
"I think that this team and this country is so full of sporting talent and I can't wait to see what is ahead. I'm optimistic about our sporting future.
