Lyn takes Olympic experience into 2025 season
Published:Sunday | March 23, 2025 | 9:40 PMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
JAMAICAN SWIMMER Sabrina Lyn is looking to continue her impressive performances in the pool this year as she reflected on her life-changing 2024 season where she achieved her dream of competing at the Olympic Games.
Lyn vividly recalls her debut at the Paris Olympics as the 20-year-old rubbed shoulders with several of her sport’s top athletes.
Having competed at the 2024 Carifta Games just a few months before her Olympic berth, Lyn described the occasion as surreal.
“To become Sabrina the Olympian has been a dream of mine so being able to reach that dream was a pretty great feeling,” she said.
“For me, it was not a huge jump but it was very different from the Carifta Games because at the Olympics it was a lot more serious.”
Lyn said the reality of the occasion truly sank in as she walked out for the women’s 50m freestyle to the cheers of the crowd.
With a time of 26.08 seconds, outside of her personal best of 23.24, Lyn finished 29th overall in a field of 79 athletes.
“It became a reality for me right before my race. I got to the margining area and then I was in the final heat before a lot of the A-cuts came in so I saw a lot of the top Olympians sitting right behind me in the margining area.
“As I had walked out to the pool to go behind the blocks and heard the cheering, I said ‘Wow, I’m actually at the Olympics’,” she reminisced.
Her 2024 season also came with individual honours as she was named the inaugural Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) Female Athlete of the Year and the Age Group Regional Champion for the 18 & Over Division.
“It was really an honour to accept those awards. It being the first event that the ASAJ had held and getting to be a part of it, was really an honour. I couldn’t be there in person but I heard stories and I really enjoyed how the ASAJ has now been recognising the swimmers from every age group.”
Now having reached the pinnacle of the sport, Lyn is ready to take that experience as she tackles the pool in 2025.
Representing Louisiana State University (LSU), Lyn believes she is in the right environment to continue her sporting development.
“Being an Olympian and coming back to LSU, I think I’ve started to hold myself to a much higher standard. During training, being known as an Olympian, I don’t want to regress in my training or plateau. It’s about training harder and doing better for my team,” she explained.
“Being at LSU, as part of the SEC, it is one of the fastest conference in America so being a part of that level of competition has really placed me in a more elite and competitive circle. At LSU, they have a few Olympians as coaches as well.”
At LSU, Lyn trains under the tutelage of former Barbadian Olympian Leah Stancil.
She is preparing for the NCAA D1 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, set for March 19-22, where she will compete in the 400-yard freestyle relay.