21 PBTs in 9 events for SSC swimmers

Saipan Swim Club’s Jinie Thompson does the breaststroke leg of the 200m individual medley event in the Tsunami Saipan Mid Season Meet held last Jan. 20 at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Saipan Swim Club members combined for 21 personal best times in nine of the 16 events contested during the Tsunami Saipan Mid Season Meet held late last month at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool.

Siblings Jinju and Jinie Thompson were among the PBT getters for SSC, while Andrei Kaitlynn Chavez also stood out, earning three PBTs.

Jinju’s first PBT came in the 100m backstroke event as she clocked in at 1:21.34, surpassing her old mark of 1:25.81. Then in the 400m freestyle, the 14-year-old swimmer submitted 5:23.51—more than 10 seconds faster than her previous PBT (5:34.29). Jinju also raced in the 100m backstroke and broke the 3-minute barrier after logging 2:59.05, which was faster than her PBT (3:03.58).

Jinju’s sister, Jinie, on the other hand, recorded two PBTs—200m individual medley and 200m freestyle. The younger Thompson timed in at 2:50.08 in the 200m freestyle to eclipse her old PBT of 3:01.49, while in the 200m IM, Jinie registered 3:17.62, more than 17 seconds better than her seed time (3:35.67).

Chavez’s three PBTs were all from freestyle events—50m, 100m, and 400m. In the 50m, she logged 38.60 seconds (from 40.90), while her new PBTs in the 100m and 400m are 1:30.76 (from 1:33.73) and 6:59.95 (from 7:26.13), respectively.

Other PBT getters for SSC were Taiyo Akimaru, Sophia Gauran, Anthony Camacho-Deleon Guerrero, Christian Villacrusis, Takeru Jim, Manuel Magboo, Jinnosuke Suzuki, Moshe Sikkel, and Christian Newman.

Meek & Mighty Ocean Swim Saturday
SSC will hold the 2018 Meek & Mighty Ocean Swim this Saturday in the waters off Pacific Islands Club.

Registration and check in will begin at 6am, while the race will start at 7am.

Swimmers can enter in the minnow division (200m), meek (one loop race/956m), tweener (two loops/1,900m), and mighty (three loops/2.7 kilometer).

Entry fee is only $10 and the first 20 swimmers to register will get a free PIC Water Park pass. Fins, snorkel, paddles, and buoys are allowed, but swimmers who will use them are not eligible for awards. Participants have until 8:45am to complete their respective races.

“SSC would like to invite all swimming enthusiasts, triathletes, open water beginners, and anyone looking to try swimming in our beautiful lagoon to the 12th Meek and Mighty Ocean Swim hosted by PIC. There are four distances for ability levels, from 200 meters to 2.7K. And if you can’t complete 200 meters, don’t worry we will find something for you,” SSC coach Jacoby Winkfield said.

To register or for more information, contact SSC at saipanswimclub@gmail.com.