Tsunami Saipan swimmers deliver

Members and coaches of Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan pose for a group photo during a break in the Tokyo Junior Sprint 2015 held early this month at the Tatsumi International Swimming Arena in Japan. (Contributed Photo)

Three Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan members had notable performances in the Tokyo Junior Sprint 2015 held early this month at the Tatsumi International Swimming Arena in Japan.

Tournament returnee Kaito Yanai was among the three who stood out in the March 7 and 8 competition, appearing in the finals of two races and winning silver and bronze medals in the 50m breaststroke and 100m individual medley, respectively.

The 15-year-old swimmer got his first medal right in the opening day of the annual tournament after placing third in the 100m IM where he timed in at 1:02.19. Kaito’s time in the finals was also faster than his preliminary, as the Tsunami Saipan swimmer posted 1:02.88—the second best time in the qualifying races.

Kaito’s other medal came from the 50m breaststroke event and though the results provided to Saipan Tribune did not indicate his time in the finals, the Marianas High School student improved his ranking in the medal round. He was only at third place in the qualifying swim after tallying 31.48 seconds.

Kaito also joined the 50m freestyle race and missed the finals after placing 13th out of 49 participants and submitting 26.83 seconds.

Besides Kaito, Ashley Dangol and Miku Tammy were the other Tsunami Saipan swimmers who advanced to the finals of their respective events.

The 8-year-old Dangol marched into the medal round of the 50m butterfly race and finished sixth in the finals with her 37.86 seconds, which was better than her heat time of 38.64 seconds. Tammy joined the same event for the 11 to 12 age group and qualified for the finals where she tallied 31.83 seconds and matched Dangol’s ranking. In the preliminary, Tammy recorded 31.84 seconds to place seventh.

Six other Tsunami Saipan swimmers participated in the Tokyo Junior Sprint. The list includes Hans Xu, Anthony Camacho-Deleon Guerrero, Jun Tenorio, Nanakawa Watanabe, Sophia Gauran, and Kaito’s younger brother Ryuto.

Xu raced in the boys U8’s 50m freestyle (37.75 seconds) and placed 29th out of the 44 swimmers. He was then ranked 25th out of 84 in the 100m IM (1:34.94) and 15th out of 78 in the 50m backstroke (42.24 seconds).

Camacho-Deleon Guerrero was at No. 26 out of 84 swimmers in the 100m IM (1:27.29) and at No. 25 out of 120 in the 50m butterfly (37.12 seconds), while Tenorio finished 94th out of 119 participants in the 50m freestyle (35.74 seconds) and 28th out of 63 in the 100m IM (1:29.88).

Kaito’s sibling Ryuto joined three races, placing 12th among 207 swimmers in the 50m freestyle (29.95 seconds), seventh in the non-competitive 100m IM (1:16.19), and 21st out of 94 in the 50m butterfly (34.38 seconds).

In the girls division, Watanabe raced in three events, ranking 74th in the 50m freestyle (37.86 seconds), 30th in the 100m IM (1:32.03), and 17th in the 50m breaststroke (45.45 seconds). Dangol had two other events, coming in at 13th in the 50m freestyle (37.34 seconds) and 10th in the 100m IM (1:32.12). Tammy also competed in the 50m freestyle (30.55 seconds) and 100m IM (1:16.86) and finished 29th and 24th, respectively. Gauran was at No. 38 in the 50m freestyle (31.51 seconds), No. 27th in the 100m IM (1:20.85), and 55th in the 50m breaststroke (42.97 seconds).

Hiro Kimura coached the squad and was assisted by former Tsunami Saipan mainstays and his sons Kensuke and Shin.

Meanwhile, Tsunami Saipan would like to thank the following for supporting the club’s participation to the Tokyo Junior Sprint: Reps. Edmund Villagomez (Ind-Saipan), B.J. Attao (Ind-Saipan), Edwin K. Propst (Ind-Saipan), Roman Benavente (Ind-Saipan), Lorenzo Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan), Vinnie Sablan (Ind-Saipan), Joseph “Lee Pan” Guerrero (R-Saipan), Francis Taimanao (Ind-Saipan), and Ralph Demapan (R-Saipan) and Sens. Justo Quitugua (Ind-Saipan) and Arnold I. Palacios (R-Saipan).