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Modest goal for Chentsova
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Posted on Jul 19 2011
Saipan Swim Club’s Victoria Chentsova has set a realistic goal for the 14th FINA World Championships.
“I am aiming to beat my personal best records by good chunks of time. If I break CNMI records in my age group, that would be pretty awesome, but right now my focus is really on having new PBTs,” Chentsova said.
The 13-year-old swimmer, teammate Grace Kimball, and Tsunami Saipan’s Rezne Wong will leave Saipan today for Shanghai, China, to represent the Commonwealth to the biennial competition. She will be participating in the 200m and 400m freestyle races.
Chentsova’s PBT in the 400m freestyle is 5:16.62, which she logged during the Guam tournament in May this year. Chentsova dropped about 24 seconds from her previous PBT (5:39.46). In the 200m, Chentsova’s new PBT is 2:29.86, which she also posted during the Guam meet and is more than two seconds better than her previous record (2:31.96).
Nina Mosley holds the CNMI age group record in the 200m freestyle, tallying 2:21.37 on May 5, 2004. Anneka Sakovich owns the Commonwealth’s age group mark in the 400m freestyle (4:54:07) and the record has been in the books for about 24 years (Dec. 10, 1987).
Chentsova said swimming in the World Championships is a dream come true and she is thankful that she is given a chance to compete in the prestigious event at a young age.
“It has been my dream to join the World Championships, but to be honest I never expected that I would make it at this early. I am very excited and looking forward to seeing a lot of talents in China. This is one adventure I will never forget,” the Whispering Palms student added.
Before leaving for the World Championship today, Chentsova underwent a rigorous training with SSC coaches Michael Villagomez and Lisa Kimball. Villagomez will be accompanying the CNMI swimmers to China.
“Our coaches formulated drills that help us work on our weak points. We practice five to times a week, two to three hours a day,” Chentsova said.
