Who is Dylan Carter

Dylan Carter is a pioneer in Trinidad and Tobago swimming, with his name etched all over the country’s records. Carter is a freestyle swimmer, but he also enjoys backstroke and butterfly. He was Trinidad and Tobago’s Junior Male Athlete Of The Year in 2013.

Carter started swimming when he was 12 years old, and he did so for Marlins Swimming Club in the country, where he was raised by Head Coach Franz Huggins. Huggins was the one who helped Carter’s early career. He encouraged him to swim for the University of Southern California, where he majored in Environmental Studies. From Coral Springs, Florida, he moved to Los Angeles, where he attended American Heritage High School.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY

2013-2014

Carter was an 800-yard freestyle relay member who became an NCAA Champion in his 1^st year of USC under Dave Salo. Carter earned more points for the Trojans by helping the 400-yard freestyle relay reach its final. He also finished 15th in the 200 yard-freestyle. In addition, Carter was 42nd in the 50-yard freestyle.

2014-2015

Carter received four All-American honors this year. He was part of the national title-winning relays for the 800 and 400-yard freestyle relays at his second NCAA Championships. Both relays were set as a school record. The Trojans also finished sixth and fifth in the 200-yard freestyle and sixth in the medley relays. Carter was 13th in the 100-yard freestyle, 16th in the 200-yard freestyle, and 19th in the 50-yard freestyle.

2015-2016

Carter redshirted in his junior year to prepare for the Rio Olympic Games 2016.

2016-2017

As a junior, Carter won his first NCAA medal. He won the silver medal in the 200-yard freestyle, where he tied with Indiana’s Blake Pieroni in 1:31.16. They finished second to Texas’ Townley Haas.

The bronze medal he received in the 400-yard freestyle relay was his other medal.

Carter was also awarded All-American First Team honors in two other individual swims as well as two relays. He was 4th in the 100-yard freestyle at 41.76 seconds and 7th in 50 freestyle at 19.08. In addition, he was a pivotal contributor to USC’s 4th and 5th place finishes in the 800 freestyle relays and 400 Medley.

2017-2018

Carter started his senior NCAA’s by helping the Trojons finish 12th in the 800 free relay. He finished at 1:32.59. Dylan did not swim in an individual event on Day 2. However, he had a busy day. He split a team fastest 18.69 for the second leg of the 200-free relay (5th place) and then volunteered to fly on the 400 medley relay (44.71), helping USC finish 3rd. Carter fell to 7th in the 200 free final (1:32.60), but his relay swim was the highlight. Carter, who split 19.60 on the fly in the 200 medley relay, was a massive success for the Trojans. They went on to win the 200-medley relay. This was Carter’s fourth national relay title in the same number of years. Carter was 11th in the 100-free (41.93) final and helped USC (41.63) reach 5th in the 400-free relay.

INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Carter was first called up to the international pool at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games. He reached the finals in the 50-meter butterfly, backstroke, and 100-meter backstroke.

Carter’s breakout year was in 2013 when he won a silver medal in the 50-meter butterfly at the World Junior Championships as well as fourth in the 100-meter backstroke. He was also eligible for the FINA Swimming Championships but decided to focus on the junior meet.

Carter was busy in 2014 as well. He finished his freshman year at USC and was present at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. Furthermore, he won a silver medal for the 50-meter butterfly and a bronze for the 50-meter freestyle. Carter took time off from his second season to compete in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He finished fifth in the 100-meter freestyle and was in the semi-finals in the 100m butterfly.

2015 FINA World Champion

Carter placed 15th in the 50-meter butterfly semi-final at his first senior World Championships. He was also in the 100-meter freestyle, finishing 24th, and the 50-meter freestyle, finishing 32nd.

Rio Olympic Games

Carter placed 23rd in the 100-meter freestyle, breaking a national record of 48.80.

Short Course World Championships

He was seventh in the 50-meter butterfly and fourth in the 200-meter freestyle at the 2016 World Short Course Championships.

2017 World Championships

Carter finished 19th in the 50 fly at 23.73, his first event of the 2017 World Champs. Dylan Carter finished 18th in the 100 free with a time of 48.87, just short of his second swim. Prelims for the 200 free saw him finish 24th with a time of 1:47.77. This is a new national record.

2018 Commonwealth Games

Dylan made history at the Commonwealth Games of 2018. Back then, he participated in two events: 50 fly and 100 free. He was seeded to win the 100 free but ended up finishing 5th. He did manage 48.60, which was his national record. He swam a finals time of 23.67 in the 50 fly. This was just short of his best but enough to earn a silver medal.

2018 Short Course World Championships

Carter’s remarkable year continued in Hangzhou. He broke his national 50-fly record by touching at 22.38. This earned him a bronze medal. It is only the second short course medal in the world championships that Trinidad and Tobago has ever won. In addition, Carter broke the 50-back national record (23.19) earlier in the competition and earned 7th place in the final.

2019 World Championships, Gwangju, South Korea

Although he won no medals, Carter was a great competitor at the world championships. He competed in the 100 back, 100 free, and 50 fly. He set national records in the 100 free (48.52, 12th) as well as in the 100 back (54.03 prelims, 54.08 semi-finals for 16th). However, he was 13th in the 50 fly at 23.37.

2019 Pan American Games, Lima, Peru

Carter placed 3rd in the 100 back in 54.42, his first Pan Am medal. He also set lifetime records in the 50 and 200 free (22.67, 9th, and 4th, respectively).

2020 ISL Budapest Bubble

With a playoff berth in sight, Carter surged at the end of the regular season finale, clocking 50.11 in 100 backstroke (short course meters) to help LA Current finish 1-2. Carter, who is more known as a flyer or freestyler, continued to excel in backstroke. He finished at 23.28, 23.93, and 24.99 in the 50 back skin races to complete a sweep for LA.

Carter would eventually set Trinidad & Tobago records for the 100 back (49.91), 100-free (46.56), and 100 fly (50.70). He also has seven national records in short course meters and nine in long course meters.

2020 Swammy Awards

Carter was awarded the 2020 Swammy for Central American & Caribbean Males of the Year.

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