PBs for Thompson, Batallones

CNMI swimmers Nelson Batallones, left, and Jinju Thompson pose in one of the competition pools in the 14th FINA World Championships held at the Hangzhou Olympic and International Expo Center in China last week. (Contributed Photo)

CNMI swimmers Jinju Thompson and Nelson Batallones returned to Saipan yesterday, bringing home personal best times from the 14th FINA World Championships held at the Hangzhou Olympic and International Expo Center in China last week.

Thompson raced in the 100m and 200m freestyle events of the short-course meet, while Batallones competed in the 50m and 100m butterfly swims and both shattered their old PBs. The 15-year-old first joined the qualifying heats in the 200m freestyle event and timed in at 2:27.89, more than a second ahead of her previous PB (2:29.00). Then in the 100m freestyle event, Thompson submitted 1:09.05, surpassing her old PBT of 1:09.10.

“I wasn’t expecting the PBs, but I’m so thankful to have gotten them and I’m so much more motivated through the outcome of this meet. The highlight of my trip was swimming the 200m free, it’s a very fun race and I could feel all the support from back home,” the Saipan Swim Club member said.

Nearly 60 swimmers raced in the 200m freestyle event with Australia’s Ariarne Titmus winning the gold and Mallory Comerford of the U.S. and Femke Heemskerk of the Netherlands getting the silver and bronze, respectively. In the 100m freestyle swim, Thompson was one of the nearly 100 competitors that included gold and silver medalists Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Heemskerk of the Netherlands and bronze winner Comerford.

“China was one of the best swim meets that I competed in. I got to reunite with friends, watch world records get broken, and most importantly represent my island. It was a little overwhelming, but at the same time the adrenaline rush made my races so fun. I was super excited to swim them and I’m happy to have gotten PB in both of my events,” Thompson said.

Batallones was also in awe after seeing the best swimmers in the world.

“It was great get to see world-class swimmers race in the finals and break records. Competing there is really scary, but it was a good experience. I was able to experience how it felt like to be on the big stage,” the Swimming Center Tsunami Saipan member said.

“More importantly, I am happy that I was able to drop time in both events,” Batallones said.

In the 100m butterfly event, the 15-year-old swimmer clocked in at 1:05.15—chopping off more than two seconds from his old PB (1:08.00). In the shorter 50m butterfly, Batallones registered 29.58 in the preliminary races or more than a second faster than his previous mark (31 seconds).

Batallones, Jinju, and her father, Colin, who served as the team’s coach, were joined in China by Lennosuke Suzuki.