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Tsunami Saipan leaves for Tokyo
Aasish Dangol is among the 11 Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan members heading to Japan today to compete in this weekend’s Tokyo Junior Sprint 2017 at the Tatsumi International Swimming Arena. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan’s delegates to the Tokyo Junior Sprint 2017 will leave the island today to join more than 100 swim clubs in the weekend tournament that will be held at the Tatsumi International Swimming Arena.
Tsunami Saipan head coach Hiro Kimura said the club is among the 122 swim teams that will race in the March 4 and 5 competition and their 11 swimmers are included in the 3,500 participants in the 50m and 100m freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke, and the 100m individual medley events
“It’s the one of the biggest tournaments in Japan. We will be staying at the Tokyo Sports and Academic Center BumB and will have our training for two days at the Water Mates Swim Club’s pool in Yokohoma. It is the one of most traditional and historical swimming clubs in Japan. There were four Olympians who came from the club. Tsunami Saipan sent a few swimmers to train there during summer. Our swimmers are excited to train and compete,” Kimura said.
Captain Nelson Batallones leads the 11 Tsunami Saipan swimmers heading to Tokyo today and is joined on the squad by vice captain Aika Watanabe and Sophia Gauran, Juhn Tenorio, Anthony Camacho-Deleon Guerrero, Nanaka Watanabe, Isaiah Aleksenko, Hans Xu, Ashley and Aasish Dangol, and Maria Batallones, and team manager Yuko Kimura.
All 11 Tsunami Saipan swimmers will race in the opening day of the Tokyo Sprint (25-meter pool) with Nelson and Maria, Tenorio, Camacho-Deleon Guerrero, Xu, and Gauran competing in the 50m freestyle event. Aasish, Aika, Nanaka, and Ashley will do the 100m IM qualifying races, while Aleksenko is entered in both the 100M and 50m freestyle events.
In the second and final day of the short course, Nelson, Camacho-Deleon Guerrero, and the Dangol siblings will participate in the qualifying heats of the 50m butterfly, while Tenorio, Xu, and Aika will race in the 50m backstroke. Gauran, Nanaka, and Maria will join the 50m breaststroke qualifiers.
Hiro Kimura is expecting Tsunami Saipan swimmers to bring home at least three gold medals and two silvers and two bronzes. The head coach also would like to see Tsunami Saipan members appearing in the finals of nine races.
