Wong invited to Japan Open 2009

Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan swimmer Rezne Wong will be pitted against medalists and finalists of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2008 FINA World Championships when he competes in the 50th Japan Swimming Championships.

Wong will be participating in the elite meet dubbed as Japan Open 2009 after receiving an invitation from Japan Swimming Federation.

JSF’s Kiho Abe, who chaired the competition committee of the 2008 Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Guam this month, was impressed with Wong’s performance in last week’s races.

Wong made it to the finals of the 100m breaststroke, timing in at 1:10.72. In the finals, he 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.

The Marianas High School students timed in at 1:09.86 in the finals and 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.

No CNMI swimmer has yet to break the 1:10.00 barrier in the 100m breaststroke. Wong holds the CNMI National mark in that event at 1:10.21.

Tsunami Saipan coach Hiro Kimura said Wong will have an all-expense paid trip to Japan, courtesy of JSF.

He will be competing in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, and 100m individual medley events.

Kimura said he is hoping that Wong’s level of competitiveness will move to a higher level after the races in Japan.

“We want him to move to another level, as far as being a very competitive swimmer is concerned. He can’t set CNMI record in Japan because it is a short course meet. CNMI only has long course (50m) records,” Kimura said.

The Japan Open will be held in a 25m pool at the Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center in Tatsumi, Koto-ku, Tokyo from Feb. 21 to 22.

There will be 17 events each in the men’s and women’s competitions.

The freestyle events will be 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m (women’s), and 1500m (men’s). The backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly events will only have three races (50m, 100m, and 200m), while the individual medley will offer, 100m, 200m, and 400m races.

Cash prizes await winners and swimmers who will make records in the two-day meet.

The top finisher will receive $1,118, $559 for second, and $335 for third.

The world record prize is a whopping $22,375. If a swimmer sets world records more than once in the same event, only one world record prize will be awarded.

Most valuable players in the men’s and women’s division will also receive a cash prize of $11,187 each.