Swimmers revel in world champs

CNMI swimmers, clockwise, Juhn Tenorio, Lennosuke Suzuki, Aika Watanabe, and Jinju Thompson compete in the 4x100m mixed medley relay race in the 18th FINA World Swimming Championships last Wednesday at the Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center in Gwangju, South Korea. (The Reporters Academy Photo)

For anyone who’s not an elite swimmer, the thought of competing in a 4x100m medley relay sounds like a challenge, to say the least. Not for the members of the CNMI Swim Team. They revelled in their first-ever competitive mixed relay event in the World Championships.

Lennosuke Suzuki, Jinju Thompson, Juhn Tenorio, and Aika Watanabe had their own roles to play within the medley relay and performed them well, clocking in at 4:56.20 in last Wednesday’s race in the 18th FINA World Swimming Championships at the Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center in Gwangju, South Korea. Tenorio did the backstroke event and timed in at 1:04.40; Suzuki posted 1:22.52 in the breaststroke; Watanabe registered 1:18.18 in the butterfly; and Thompson submitted 1:11:10 in the freestyle.

“We just went out there to have fun. We were up in a tough heat, we just wanted to try our best and prepare for tomorrow’s (yesterday’s) races so it’s a good practice,” Thompson said.

The CNMI swimmers raced against Denmark (3:49.10) and Jordan (4:08,54) on Heat 1.

Suzuki commented, “I think I went pretty good, I dropped 0.5 seconds from my 100 so that was sweet.” Tenorio followed and said, “I was having fun, I tried to keep the lead.”

Thompson, meanwhile, noted the importance of having fun while competing with her fellow NMA swimmers;

“ It was a pretty okay 50, I couldn’t control my adrenaline, so when I turned, I realized I had gone out too fast so the last 50 I was trying to give it my all, finishing the race for us so it was pretty difficult, but it was a fun race,” she said.

During the same race, two other Pacific Island teams were in the lanes beside them, ready to see who would be the first to reach the wall. The CNMI bets said they have a great relationship with the other Pacific island swimmers and there’s nothing they love more than to play pranks with one another.

Great show of character
It’s hard to imagine what it’s like to be just 15 years old and have to step into the world arena and focus upon trying to put in your best performance.

Step forward for Watanabe, who was the first swimmer up for the CNMI on Day 4 (Wednesday) of the world championships.

It’s been a positive week in the pool for Watanabe, as she was hoping to keep that progression flowing in the 50m backstroke event. Fresh from a 34.25-second performance at the recent Pacific Games in Samoa, she posted 35.04 seconds after a quick start from the blocks. Afterwards, Aika embraced yet another new experience in the interview area as she fielded questions about her performance.

“I think the swim was pretty ok. I didn’t make a personal best. I was a little nervous and it was very scary,” she said.

Her feelings are expected, especially coming from someone who is appearing in the world stage for the first time. However, it was clear that she’d embraced the experience as her smile gave away a little more about her nerves.

“It was a good kind of nervous, so I’ve enjoyed it although I was shaking a bit at the blocks.”

Personal best
Suzuki’s second swim of the week saw him compete in the 100m freestyle qualifying heat. Edger Iro from the Solomon Islands also lined up in the same heat.

The CNMI swimmer completed the two-length discipline with a time of 57.83 seconds, a personal best for the 16-year-old.

“It was ok. It (the race) was fast! I just do what I can. We don’t have a pool (50-meter), so it was just about me and my coach getting together and taking advantage of the training pool here. We were trying to get all the techniques back,” Suzuki said.

It was a modest response after a fantastic performance. It gave an insight into his training conditions and also (which most of us don’t see) the importance of the swim coach to these hard working athletes.