The fact that she lived on an island surrounded by water was what inspired Lani Cabrera to get into swimming. She’s been a competitive swimmer for the past 20 years, and have competed at all the major sporting events in the world.
“I started swimming in 1996 when Leah Martindale was at the Olympics,” she said, “Growing up on an island, where we’re surrounded by water, I think swimming is an important skill to have.”
She added that learning how to swim made her life easier since she was always either at the beach or in a pool, adding that growing up, she went to the beach every weekend with family.
The distance-freestyle swimmer, who said she did from the 200 metre up to the mile, noted that swimming had provided her with many opportunities. “Swimming at this level has been my dream come true. I feel accomplished; it has opened so many doors for me,” she said.
Lani was a distance finalist at the 2006 CARIFTA in Barbados, she participated at the 2011 Pan American Games in Mexico and the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 World Championships. Lani won the silver medal in the 400m Free and the bronze medal in the 800m Free at CISC in Bahamas in 2016. She also competed in the 400m Freestyle at the 2016 Olympic Games.
She said she wanted swimming to become more popular, so that more people could get involved and stay involved, and that she would do her best to continue to push the sport.
Lani said sports provided you with skills that could be used well into adulthood, especially in the workplace.
When the family-oriented 23-year-old is not at a practice session, she is still somewhere neck-deep in water. “When I’m not training, I’m usually lounging at the beach or swimming in a friend’s pool,” she said.