Jinnosuke, Asaka finish strong in Abu Dhabi

Jinnosuke Suzuki in action in the men’s 100m freestyle of the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships last Monday in the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Jinnosuke Suzuki and Asaka Litulumar closed the CNMI’s participation in the15th FINA World Swimming Championships with a bang last Monday with impressive swims inside the cavernous Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Suzuki saw action in his last event of the international meet and completed the men’s 100m freestyle in 53.72.

“I am happy with the results of my 100m freestyle because I got a 53 and. My goal was to get a 54 but I was able to beat it by a second,” said the 16-year-old student from Marianas High School.

For her part, Litulumar swam her women’s 50m freestyle in 29.96.

“My 50m freestyle was an amazing race because I cut 30 seconds! I was very close to not cutting it, but I pushed myself to go harder and I did my best until the end. I’m really happy with my result!” said the 16-year-old student also from MHS.

CNMI national swimming coach Hiroyuki Kimura congratulated Suzuki and Litulumar for a job well done in the final day of the world championships.

“I was so surprised with Jinnosuke’s time of 100m freestyle. A few years ago, it is the dream of every CNMI swimmer to swim under 54 seconds in the 100m freestyle,” he said.

As a point of comparison, the Tsunami Saipan Swimming Center coach said CNMI swimming royalty, Dean Palacios, swam a 55.80 in the same event in the FINA Short Course World Championships in Barcelona, Spain.

He also referenced CNMI Sports Hall of Famer and Olympian Jonathan Sakovich’s 54.44 record in the boys’ 15-16 age group and his CNMI record 53.98 in the boys’ 17-18 division.

“The CNMI record is 53.98 set by Jonathan Sakovich. We can understand easily why Jinnosuke’s 53.72 is a superfast time for the CNMI,” he said.

Asaka Litulumar prepares to swim in the women’s 50m freestyle of the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships last Monday in the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Kimura was equally impressed with Litulumar’s performance in the women’s 50m freestyle.

“Asaka amazingly cut the 30-second barrier. Her time was 29.96. Asaka missed closely her target in the women’s 100m freestyle, so she was very enthusiastic with her swim in the 50m freestyle. Asaka also beat two Micronesian swimmers on the way to her awesome performance in the 50m freestyle,” he said.

Aside from Suzuki, Litulumar, and fellow national swimmers Juhn Tenorio and Shoko Litulumar and coach Kimura, also part of the CNMI delegation in Abu Dhabi are Northern Mariana Islands Swimming Federation representatives Richard Sikkel and Hiroko Tenorio.