Swansea Siblings Are Cape Verde's First-Ever Olympic Swim Team

SEEKONK, MA — Troy and Jayla Pina, two siblings from Seekonk are wrapping up their first Olympic experience - being the first two, and only two members of the Cape Verde Olympic swim team.

The Pina family made history, completing their last race in the Tokyo Olympics Friday.

This is the first year Cape Verde has participated in swimming events, as the country has only been included in Olympic events since 1996. So far, Cape Verde has never won an Olympic medal.

Troy and Jayla Pina wanted to try their hand at the task, using their mother's home country, and dual-citizenship to be the first participants of Cape Verde's swim team in the Olympics.

Troy, 22, finished off his first race Friday, competing in the Men's 50m Freestyle, and getting a time of 25.97, and ranked 58th overall.

American swimmer Caeleb Dressel took the lead with a time of 21.32

The 16 swimmers with the best times advanced to the semifinals.

Jayla, 17, took part in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke Sunday. She finished her heat with a time of 1:16.96 and put her 40th place overall in the event.

Jayla was one of Cape Verde's flag bearers in the Opening Ceremony, that took place on her 17th birthday.