2 swimmers race in World Champs opener

From left, CNMI swimmers David Boyer, Jinie Thompson, Victoria Chentsova, and Christian Villacrusis pose for a photo while waiting for their respective events in the 17th FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary last weekend. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The CNMI’s Victoria and Christian Villacrusis saw action right in the opening day of the swimming competition in the 17th FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Victory was the first swimmer from the Commonwealth to plunge into the pool at the Dagály Swimming Complex, as she joined the qualifying races in the 400m freestyle event last Sunday morning (Sunday evening on Saipan). The 19-year-old swimmer was on Heat 1, Lane 2 of the qualifiers and competed against Cote d’Ivoire’ Talita Te Flan, Lebanon’s Gabriella Doueihy, Aruba’s Daniella Van Den Berg, Thailand’s Sudthirak Watcharabusaracum, Barbados’ Hannah Gill, and Sri Lanka’s Ishani Senanayake. Van Der Berg has the fastest seed time on Heat 1 with her 4:24.20, while Chentsova’s mark is not registered on the start list.

Heat 1 qualifier was scheduled for 10:52am (Budapest time) and results were unavailable at press time. The Top 16 best times (combined all heats) will move to the semifinals. There were four heats in the 400m freestyle with the U.S.’ Katie Ledecky holding the fastest seed time at 3:56.46. The American swimmer was on Heat 4 along with Canada, Vietnam, Great Britain, Australia, Hungary, Russia, China, and Korean bets. Incidentally, Ledecky also owns the world and championship records in the 400m freestyle with her 3:56.36 and 3:59.13, respectively.

For the 100m breaststroke, the CNMI was represented by Villacrusis. The 17-year-old swimmer joined Heat 1 of the qualifiers and was set to race against Guinea’s Alpha Pumar Diallo, Libya’s Abdulmalik Ben Musa, Moldova’s Evgheni Paponin, Brunei’s Muis Ahmad, Niger’s Alassane Seydou Lancina, Uruguay’s Santiago Saint-Upery, El Salvador’s Otto Borgards, Bolivia’s Santiago Cavanagh, and Nepal’s Shuvam Shrestha. The 100m breaststroke event featured eight heats and 80 swimmers, including record holders Adam Peaty (world and championships) of Great Britain and Nicolo Martinenghi (world junior) of Italy.

Meanwhile, the CNMI has two other swimmers competing in the World Championships. Fourteen-year-old Jinju Thompson will have her first event on Tuesday, as she swims in the 200m freestyle, while David Boyer will have his baptism of fire on Wednesday via the 100m butterfly qualifying races. Villacrusis and Chentsova, on the other hand, will have their last events—the 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke—this week too. Northern Mariana Islands Swimming Federation’s Valrick Welch is coaching the four CNMI swimmers in Hungary.