Sakonnet swimmer shines at YMCA nationals

Posted 8/19/15

LITTLE COMPTON — 16-year old Little Compton swimmer Vincent Downs-Honey, the state’s lone representatives at the 2015 YMCA National Championships in Indianapolis, returned from the Aug. 3-7 meet with a brace of personal best performances.

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Sakonnet swimmer shines at YMCA nationals

Posted

LITTLE COMPTON — 16-year old Little Compton swimmer Vincent Downs-Honey, the state’s lone representatives at the 2015 YMCA National Championships in Indianapolis, returned from the Aug. 3-7 meet with a brace of personal best performances.

The Portsmouth High School junior swims for the Newport Wahoos swim team and was accompanied to the meet by Wahoos coach Randy Doiron.

In the 100 meter back he improved from 96th last year to 67th in a field of 120 competitors, with a time of 1:02.89.  He was also 67th in the 200M back, dropping 0.75 seconds to clock 2:18.16.  His best place and biggest time drop was saved for the last day, when he placed 46th in the 50M back with a time of 29.56 seconds (-0.89 sec).  In the time trials he edged closer to national qualifying times dropping over a second in both the 100M breast (1:17.29) and 200M individual medley (2:24.58).

He was back in the pool and weight room the day after returning and will keep up the heavy training schedule, with a dream of swimming far enough to get him to the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo.

Downs-Honey, who swam in New Zealand before moving to Rhode Island in 2011, puts in long hours and 6,000-10,000-yard days to achieve these goals.

He regularly swims for an hour at Brown before the 7.15 a.m. start of school at PHS, then attends afternoon practices with the Newport Wahoos. There’s more pool time most weekends, as well as lifeguard duties at South Shore Beach.  In the year since he first competed at the YMCA nationals he calculates he has swum the distance from Newport to Indianapolis.

He is the son of Richard and Rachael Downs-Honey of Little Compton.

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