Christal ariana Clashing O'Reilly

In 2004, at the age of 14, she became the first female swimmer to represent her country at the Olympic Games in Athens.

She later joined Team Antigua Island Girls to become the first all-black team and first all-female Caribbean team to row any ocean when they crossed the Atlantic in 2018/2019 and later the mid-Pacific Ocean in 2023. In 2020, she joined the international adventure racing team, Team Onyx, whose mission is to change the face of adventure to include more diversity in outdoor sport and recreation. In 2024 she secured two national records for Antigua and Barbuda in the sport of freediving.

Being involved in swimming at an early age, she found a passion for sport and studied Sports Development at the University of Portsmouth in the UK under a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship. She also secured a studentship at the same university to complete her Masters by Research in Science.

She has held certifications as a Canadian Swim for Life Instrutor, an ASCA swim coach, an ACA stand-up paddle instructor and a PADI divemaster. She has honed her skills across the five countries she’s lived in - Antigua, The Bahamas, Australia, England and Costa Rica. As a former adventure guide and travel writer, she brings an international perspective to the engagement of outdoor and aquatic adventure sports.