Staal resets record, Wong makes finals

Tsunami Saipan swimmers Kai Staal and Rezne Wong debuted strong in the 2009 Junior Pan Pacific Championships at the Leo Palace Resort Swimming Pool in Guam Friday.

Staal shattered the CNMI 13 to 14 age group record (57.46 seconds), which he himself set two months ago on Saipan, in the 100m freestyle when he timed in at 57.36 in the preliminary race on Day 2 of the six-day meet.

Tsunami coach Hiro Kimura said the record-breaking performance is a big boost to Staal’s bid to break the 50m freestyle mark in the same age group. He added he is confident Staal will break the 25-second barrier in the sprint swim.

Staal’s best time in the 50m freestyle is 25.68 seconds (an CNMI age group record) which he posted in the 200m medley free relay swim for Saipan International School during the SSC All Schools meet in November last year.

No CNMI swimmer has yet to finish a 50m freestyle race in 25 seconds. The closest one was Alex Screen, who holds the CNMI National Record of 25.12 seconds, which he made on Aug. 25, 1987.

“I hope we will see a new page in the CNMI swimming history book after Day 4 of the tournament,” Kimura said.

Staal was set to compete in the 50m freestyle preliminary races Sunday morning.

Wong also plunged into action on Friday and though he failed to set a new mark in the 100m breaststroke, timing in at 1:10.72, it was enough to move him to the finals.

“It was amazing because no swimmer from Saipan or Guam has advanced to the finals in this event in the history of JPP,” Kimura said.

In the finals, Wong raced against the U.S. Nicholas D’Innocenzo and Stuart Ferguson, Japan’s Akihiro Yamaguchi, China’s Jianjia Xue, and Australia’s Jeremy Meyer and Bogdan Knezevic.

This time, Wong swam faster than his personal best time, clocking in at 1:09.86. The Marianas High School student could have set a new CNMI National Mark, but his time was not considered an official record, as he was disqualified in the finals due to an illegal downward dolphin kick.

According to FINA rules, the downward dolphin kick is not permissible prior to the arm pull. During, or at the end of the arm pull of the first stroke after the start and after each turn, a single downward dolphin kick is allowed, but not required, followed by a breaststroke kick. During the arm pull, if a downward dolphin kick is taken, it must be followed by a breaststroke kick. It is not permissible to take only a downward dolphin kick without then taking a normal breaststroke kick.

Kimura did not elaborate on Wong’s violation, but said Tsunami is proud that Rezne is capable of breaking the 1.10.00-barrier in the 100m breaststroke.

“It was sad for him and the CNMI that the record was not officially counted, but we are excited for him because he has the ability to past the 1:10.00 barrier. No swimmer from Saipan or Guam had timed in faster than 1:10.00,” the Tsunami Saipan coach said.

Friday evening, Wong and Staal teamed up with Cooper Graf and Shin Kimura in the 800m freestyle relay and raced against Australia, Japan, U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Chine, and Guam.

Swimmers Down Under won the gold, while Japanese and American swimmers took the silver and bronze medals, respectively. The CNMI bets finished eighth.

Tsunami Saipan swimmers are set to compete in six more events in the JPP.