No super suit, no problem

Several swimmers competing in the 14th FINA World Championships may have slowed down due to the banning of high-tech super suits, but not the CNMI’s Rezne Wong.

Wong completed his stint at the World Championships with another record-breaking swim yesterday at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China. He timed in at two minutes and 23.35 seconds in the qualifying heat for the 200m breaststroke, chopping off more than three seconds from his personal best and qualifying times and breaking the CNMI record (2:26.83).

Wong held the previous CNMI mark, posting it on July 30, 2009 during the 13th FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy where the super suits were used and 43 world records fell.

In China, the then polyurethane-clad swimmers are back in traditional shorts after the super suit was banned early last year and several had admitted they swam slower in Shanghai than they did two years ago in Rome. Super suits are designed to cut drag and support certain muscles, making it easier to swim faster.

Without the super suits, critics say swimmers had to rely on their talents to post faster times in Shanghai.

Wong did.

The 20-year-old swimmer even topped Heat 2 of the qualifying races and finished ahead of five other participants. The CNMI swimmer beat Paraguay’s Genaro Britez by .43 of a second and was more than seven seconds ahead of the last finisher.

The University of Hawaii-Manoa swimmer completed the first 50m of the 200m breaststroke race in 32.25 seconds and was behind the then leading Britez by about one second. The Paraguay bet was still ahead after the 100m mark, clocking in at 1:07.57 against Wong’s 1:08.85.

Then Wong began picking up speed in the next 50m, timing in at 36.87 seconds against Britez’s 37.23, however the latter still led by about a minute after the 150m mark, 1:44.80-145.82. Wong made one final push in the last 50m and submitted 37.53 seconds to lead by more than one second against Britez (38.98 seconds) and eventually steal the race.

Wong’s record-swim in the 200m breaststroke came a day after he shattered the CNMI mark in the 200m individual medley. The Marianas High School graduate clocked in at 2:10.18 seconds, breaking the Commonwealth national mark (2:14.48) he also owned and logged on May 30, 2009.

The 200m breaststroke race was Wong’s last event in the competition.

Meanwhile, Wong’s fellow CNMI swimmer, Grace Kimball, debuted at the World Championships and raced in the 100m freestyle qualifying heat. She was on Heat 2 and tallied 1:09.70, failing to surpass her PBT of 1:08.09.

Kimball will complete the CNMI’s campaign at the World Championships tomorrow when she races in the 50m freestyle.