CNMI swimmers get better in world champs

The three CNMI swimmers made significant improvements in the 13th FINA World Swimming Championships as seen in their Top 3 finishes in the qualifying heats of last Friday’s races in Windsor, Canada.

Salofi Welch came up second both in the 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly events, while Christian Villacrusis was ranked fifth and third in the same events, and Angel De Jesus placed second in the women’s 50m butterfly during Day 4 of the competition at the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre in Ontario.

In the 50m freestyle, Welch clocked in at 26.17 for a runner-up finish on Heat 3 behind Tajikistan’s Olim Kurbanov (25.51 seconds). He defeated six other swimmers and broke his entry time of 27.21 seconds. In the 50m butterfly, the Commonwealth swimmer’s 28.67 seconds surpassed his seed time of 35.91 seconds and was the second best on Heat 2. Cook Island’s Temaruata Strickland (27.58 seconds) ruled the heat, which had eight swimmers.

Villarusis was on Heat 4 of the butterfly swim and timed in at 29.3 seconds. He eclipsed his seed time of 30.51 to place third behind Lao’s Sergey Sihanouvong (28.84 seconds) and Palestine’s Nabeel Abouhatoum (27.63 seconds) and defeat five other participants. In the 50m freestyle, the Mt. Carmel School student was only ranked fifth on Heat 4, but his 26.18 seconds was better than his seed time of 26.64 seconds. Villacrusis finished ahead of Niger swimmer Albarchir Mouctar (26.34 seconds).

In the women’s 50m butterfly, De Jesus raced on Heat 1 and came in at second behind Macedonia’s Anastasia Bogdanovski (29.48). The CNMI swimmer clock logged 32.65 seconds to break her entry time of 32.75 seconds and prevail over five other swimmers.

CNMI coach Jacoby Winkfield is happy with the improvements the three swimmers have been showing since Day 1 of the tournament.

“Despite the jetlag and the cold, they swam great with several personal best times and a whole lot of experience is gained. From swimming in the same lanes as world class athletes, to packed warm-up and competition pools, with upwards of 400-500 swimmers in a 25-meter, 10-lane pool, it goes without saying that the CNMI team is gaining a wealth of experience,” Winkfield said in an email to the Saipan Tribune.

Also joining the three CNMI swimmers and Winkfield in Canada are NMISF president John Hirsh and NMISF representative Carol Lynn Calobong-Pierce. They attended the two-day World Aquatics Convention and Sports Medicine Conference.

“The convention presented tactical tools on how to implement swimming for all, sports integrity, and FINA initiatives, to name a few. While the sports medicine conference presented such issues as the latest in aquatic sports medicine, nutrition for the aquatic athlete, injury and illness prevention, and how to improve and enhance the aquatic athlete’s performance. These lectures were presented by renowned physiologists, scientists, surgeons, and kinesiologists from around the world,” Calobong-Pierce said.