Kouki, Maria take 1,000m race

Kouki Watanabe and Maria Guerrero proved they got next after topping the 1,000m swim of the Tan Holding 50th Anniversary Swim Meet last Saturday in the waters off the Civic Center Beach.

Watanabe topped the men’s division with a time of 14:16.48. He was followed by Tsunami Saipan Swimming Center stablemates Justin Ma and Andrew Nunez with times of 14:50.30 and 16:16.02, respectively.

Watanabe said winning the 1,000m event was a culmination of all the hard work he’s been doing in training.

“When I won the race, I felt happy that my hard training paid off, and I felt very accomplished that I was able to beat my opponents,” said the 14-year-old Marianas High School student.

As for the most challenging part of the race, Watanabe said hands down it’s the last stretch of the 1,000m.

“The hardest part of the race was the last 300m. My arms and legs were starting to get tired and made me want to stop and rest, but the thought of winning the race kept me moving, he said.

Although Watanabe was focused on completing the race, he managed to find one or two stingrays during the swim. “It was a very fun race.”

Guerrero, for her part, won the women’s 1,000 after reaching the shore in 15:02.46. She was followed by fellow Tsunami Saipan swimmers Sari Barman (16:07.79) and Michelle Chen (17:20.34).

“Even though I was tired, I also felt accomplished. I want to thank coach Hiro (Tsunami Saipan coach Hiroyuki Kimura) for giving us such hard workouts in regular practice. It’s tough but I know it’s necessary to be a strong swimmer,” said Guerrero,

The 11-year-old Mount Carmel School student said the hardest part of the race was locating the final buoy.

“It was a struggle to find. I ended up getting confused twice. It ended up taking extra time. My personal lesson for next time,” she said.

In the 500, another pair of Tsunami Saipan tankers took the plum as Richard Zhao and Sera Guerrero were the first to arrive on land.

Zhao timed in at 7:44.00 to top the boys division followed by fellow Tsunami Saipan swimmer Haoyang Song and Jireh Wang with times of 9:43.36 and 10:21.91, respectively.

“I am happy to win first place for the 500m swimming race. First of all, I would like to thank coach Hiro for his hard work. Thank you Jerry Tan for generously providing us with a training venue. Thank you to my parents for their support and encouragement,” said Zhao.

Unlike other swimmers, the seventh grader from Saipan Community School said the hardest part of the 500m was the start.

“I felt very tired because I swam too fast at the beginning. In the next race, I will adjust my pace and strive for better results. During the competition, I saw a lot of small fish that swam much faster than me. Unfortunately, I didn’t see a turtle,” he said.

Guerrero, for her part, squeaked past Tsunami Saipan teammate Shane Barman to win the 500m for girls.

Guerrero finished with a time of 9:59.81, closely followed by Barman’s 10:00.32. Saipan Swim Club’s Mia Camacho rounded out third place by clocking in at 11:50.90.

“I was tired but I felt good. To swim 200m straight twice was the toughest part,” said Guerrero, a 9-year-old student from Mt. Carmel School.

She added the highlight of the early Saturday morning swim was when she saw three stingrays.

Results of the 50m for U8 and 100m for U10 will be published in the next issue of Saipan Tribune.