Jinnosuke earns 600 FINA points

Jinnosuke Suzuki, middle, at the starting block of his men’s 200m freestyle event in the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships last Saturday inside the cavernous Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

It was Jinnosuke Suzuki and Asaka Litulumar’s turn to make their individual debuts in the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships last Saturday inside the cavernous Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The two CNMI National Swimming Team members had mixed results in the pool.

Suzuki earned over 600 FINA points after the 16-year-old Marianas High School student broke the 2-minute barrier in his men’s 200m freestyle event with a time of 1:57.27.

“I am happy with the results of my 200m freestyle because I was able to cut 2 minutes off my time,” said the Tsunami Saipan Swimming Center co-captain.

National swimming coach Hiroyuki Kimura couldn’t hide his pleasure for Suzuki’s feat in the men’s 200m freestyle.

“His older brother Lennosuke who is a CNMI record-holder participated in the last FINA Swimming Championships in Hangzhou, China. His time was 2:06.54. I mentioned before that Jinnosuke is super faster than his brother. If we have a long course meet, Jinnosuke would’ve broken his brother’s CNMI record without fail,” he said.

The 15th FINA World Swimming Championships in the UAE capital is a short course (25m) competition.

What’s more impressive, according to Kimura, is his ward was able to cut 2 minutes from his personal best without the benefit of training in an Olympic-sized pool as the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool in Marpi has been mothballed for over three years already.

“Since 2018, the competition pool disappeared from this island and because of COVID-19, we could not even go to off-island meets. Basically, you only improve in a 200m event if you repeat your race experience. Repeating races can make a swimmer get his race plan. Example, how fast you go in the first 25m, 50m, 150m, and so on.”

Kimura said Suzuki lost all his chance to train for the 200m freestyle this past three years because of the lack of an official pool and COVID-19.

“However, he endured the headwind brilliantly and showed us excellent results. FINA points of Jinnosuke’s 200m freestyle is over 600 points and that is so amazing!” he said.

Next up for Suzuki is the 100m freestyle on Day 5 of the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships.

Asaka Litulumar completes her stint in the 100m freestyle event in the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships last Saturday inside the cavernous Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

For Litulumar, while she failed to meet the 1:04 target set by Kimura, the 16-year-old MHS student still managed to swim her personal best in the women’s 100m freestyle.

“Asaka looks in very good shape during training in Abu Dhabi. But unfortunately, she didn’t reach her target. The result was 1:06.30,” said Kimura.

Litulumar went on to lose to fellow Micronesian swimmers Jourdyn Adams of the Federated States of Micronesia (1:05.25) and Mineri Gomez of Guam (1:05.54).

“I think Asaka had a good fight because Adams and Gomez are both college student swimmers. Asaka’s main event is the 50m freestyle. It is coming on Day 5,” he added.

Litulumar, for her part, took her missing her target time in stride, but vowed to do better in her next swim.

“I am grateful with the time I have because I got my personal best, but it is not the time I hoped to achieve. I did well and that’s what counts, so I think I did great,” she said.

Aside from the national swimmers and Kimura also part of the CNMI delegation in Abu Dhabi are Northern Mariana Islands Swimming Federation representatives Richard Sikkel and Hiroko Tenorio.