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Tsunami Saipan lauds 3 swimmers
From left, Tsunami Saipan’s Ashley Dangol, Daime Rivera, and Nanaka Watanabe pose for a photo before returning to the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool to start their training session. (Contributed Photo)
“I’m so satisfied with Nanaka Watanabe’s times in the meet, especially in 400m freestyle, it was a great swim. If she has more chance to swim, she will break more CNMI records. I can see a strong potential on Nanaka. She won’t be turning 9 years old until next year, but her swimming level already fits the 9 to 10 age group,” Tsunami Saipan head coach Hiro Kimura said.
Watanabe set three marks in the girls U18 age group in the NMISF’s opening meet (timed tournament). She clocked in at 1:44.35 in the 100m breaststroke, 1:41.39 in the 100m backstroke, and 6:15.54 in the 400m freestyle. Her teammates Daime Rivera and Ashley Dangol also earned age groups marks with the former registering 43.76 seconds in the girls 17 to 18 50m backstroke. Dangol got a record in the girls U8 50m backstroke event, too with her 45.39 seconds and posted her other age group mark in the 50m butterfly (41.69 seconds).
“Both record times are fast, but she might be able to swim faster. We are really looking forward to seeing her in the next race,” said Kimura, who was not surprised of Dangol’s records as the latter has set times faster than the CNMI age group marks during their practice sessions.
As for Rivera, Kimura said he is proud to see her name in the CNMI records books despite starting late in the sport. Rivera began swimming when she was 12. Kimura added he will push Rivera to mark a BB time in the 50m breaststroke event in the next race.
The Tsunami Saipan coach also said the rest of the club’s B swimmers will aim for more BB times in the succeeding meets, while BB swimmers will target A times. The club swimmers will also eye medals in next year’s international meet and finals appearance and medals in the Tokyo Sprint.
Meanwhile, Kimura believes three more Tsunami Saipan swimmers will mark CNMI records this season. Eight-year-old Hans Xu leads the short list and is likely to earn records in the backstroke event. The two others are Anthony Camacho-Deleon Guerrero—Tsunami Saipan’s bet in freestyle races in the U8 age group—and 11 to 12’s Sophia Gauran, who is also a strong contender in freestyle swims.
