Tsunami Saipan swimmers on track

Swimming Center Tsunami Saipan’s Juhn Tenorio performs a balance training drill at their home. (Contributed Photo)

If Swimming Center Tsunami Saipan members are called to a competition soon, they will be up to the challenge as they continue to train despite of the COVID-19 crisis.

“Everyone is doing dryland training at their house or property. Our swimmers keep moving their bodies everyday and preparing for the time we can get back to the pool,” Tsunami Saipan coach Hiro Kimura, who had to suspend the club’s training sessions at the Pacific Islands Club pool earlier this month in response to the government’s call to refrain from having social gathering, including sports practices, to reduce the risk of the virus spread.

From left, siblings and Swimming Center Tsunami Saipan members Shoko, Nagisa, and Asaka Litulumar do jump rope routines at their garden as part of their dryland training session while they can’t practice at the pool due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Contributed Photo)

“They are trying their best to keep training under this unfortunate and challenging times,” Kimura added.

The Tsunami Saipan official added that despite the lack of training sessions at an appropriate facility, the club members’ morale are still high and they have the initiative to continue some of their workout drills.

“Even if their coach did not say anything about training at their homes, they keep doing dryland workouts by themselves. They know them well because they did these drills in our regular practices,” Kimura said.

It also helps that Tsunami Saipan created a group chat so members and coaches can exchanges ideas on training drills.

Swimming Center Tsunami Saipan members perform dryland training drills at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan poolside last month before their practice sessions were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Contributed Photo)

“Usually, our swimmers exchange many information there. I also post videos/pictures of Tsunami swimmers. They check their swimming form and study them. Right now, we have dryland training contents and introductions. I video instructions and post them in the group chat,” Kimura said.

Before suspending their training at the PIC facility, Tsunami Saipan swimmers were getting ready for the 2010 Micronesian Swimming Championships and a couple more off-island competitions.

“FINA (Fédération Internationale De Natation) and Oceania Swimming Association decided all international meets are postponed indefinitely. Guam Swimming Federation, which is the host of the Micronesian Swimming Championships, also told us they would reschedule MSC after this fall although the schedule still depends on the government’s announcement,” Kimura said.

Tsunami Saipan has initially selected 19 swimmers for the Guam tournament. The list includes David Roberto, Kevin Guerrero, Joseph Zhang, Nelson Batallones, Juhn Tenorio, Jinnosuke Suzuki, Isaiah Aleksenko, Kean Pajarillaga, Shuman Bargman, Kouki Watanabe, Justin Ma, Asaka, Shoko, and Nagisa Litulumar, Ayumi Obligacion, Julia Jinang, Michelle Cheng, Aoi Braxton, Maria Batallones, Sari Barman, and Maria Guerrero.