Suzuki, Braxton take early lead in qualifiers

From left, Shoko Litulumar, Aoi Braxton, Juhn Tenorio, Taiyo Akimura, and Jinnosuke Suzuki pose with Saipan Swim Club coach Richard Sikkel after the Triple Crown Open Water Swim Series last Saturday in the waters off the Civic Center beach in Oleai. (Mark Rabago)

Jinnosuke Suzuki and Aoi Braxton topped the first of three qualifiers for Saipan Swim Club’s Triple Crown Open Water Swim Series held last Saturday in the waters off the Civic Center beach in Oleai.

Suzuki topped the men’s 1,000m—the distance used in the qualifiers—with a time of 13:01:1, while Braxton was first among the women by clocking in at 15:17:3.

Finishing second in the men’s qualifiers was fellow Swimming Center Tsunami Saipan member Juhn Tenorio at 13:25.5, while another teammate of Suzuki and Braxton’s, Shoko Litulumar, came in second in the women at 15:29.1. The Saipan Swim Club pair of Taiyo Akimura (14:37) and Savita Sikkel (15:30.6) finished third, respectively, in their divisions. Another SSC stalwart, Christian Villacrusis, ended up fourth in the men with a time of 14:51.6. Jinie Thompson of SSC wasn’t able to race as she’s off-island.

Tsunami Saipan coach Hiro Kimura said Suzuki and Tenorio coming first and second in the qualifiers wasn’t a surprise, but expects his two wards to lower their times in the next meets.

“I think the male ranking was as usual. Our target for the second race is to speed up the time and both Jinnosuke and Juhn will go below 13 minutes. Our goal is to mark the first half of 12 minutes for the last race of September,” he said.

For the women, Kimura said Braxton and Litulumar’s performance were a mixed bag.

“As I felt at Guam meet in January 2020, Aoi is really strong when it counts. However, her time is not so good, so I hope she would work harder in her regular practice for the next qualifier. I think Shoko seemed to be rigid with tension a little, maybe nervous? There’s a little regret perhaps on her part because she wasn’t able to show her true strength. Next time she will join the qualifiers, with her elder sister Asaka, but it will be more important for Shoko to mark a satisfying time than ranking,” he said.

SSC coach Richard Sikkel is just happy that Akimura, Villacrusis, and her daughter, Savita, were just able to compete in the qualifiers.

“For the qualifiers the SSC swimmers are sitting pretty, they are in the mix. I am very pleased with the performance of all our swimmers. It has been a while since we have had the competitive buzz and it adds another element to the mix,” he said. “For the more seasoned swimmers this will give them a good baseline of where they stand, what they need to work on, and what it takes to level up in the next race. With the right attitude, work ethic and an eagerness to improve the sky is the limit with these young swimmers.”

The 1,000m qualifier will chose four swimmers (two men and two women) that will represent the CNMI in the 2021 FINA World Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates this coming December. The second and third parts of the Triple Crown Open Water Swim Series will be held on July 24 and Sept. 25 in the same venue.

Results of the 20m for beginners, 50m for intermediate, 100m for advanced, 500m open, and 1,000m will be published in the next issues of the Saipan Tribune.