Tsunami Saipan swimmers face tough competition in Tokyo

The seven Tokyo-bound Tsunami Saipan swimmers pose for a group photo before their training session at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool last week. (Contributed Photo)

The seven Tsunami Saipan swimmers heading to Japan this weekend are in for a tough ride in the Tokyo Junior Sprint 2016.

“This batch of swimmers will have the toughest competition because they will go to the tournament without enough training due to Typhoon Soudelor, “ said Tsunami Saipan head coach Hiro Kimura.

The group is composed of Aika and Nanaka Watanabe, Nelson Batallones, Juhn Tenorio, Anthony Camacho-Deleon Guerrero, Isaiah Aleksenko, and Ashley Dangol. They had limited training sessions after Typhoon Soudelor struck Saipan last Aug. 2 and left the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool closed for several months.

“The past teams we sent to Tokyo had enough practice, but this year it’s different. However, I know our swimmers will never give up in every race. They will do their very best,” Kimura said.

To make up for the insufficient training sessions, the Tsunami Saipan mentor has been polishing the skills and techniques of the seven swimmers in the last three months.

“The difference between the winner and the losers in a race could be 0.1 of a second so we are fine tuning their techniques. We are focusing on their diving, underwater kick, surfacing, turn, and other factors that will make a difference in the results,” Kimura said.

The seven Tsunami Saipan swimmers will have two events each in the Tokyo Junior Sprint 2016, which will be held on March 5 and 6 at the Tatsumi International Swimming Arena.

Aika will race in the 50m backstroke and 100m individual medley in the 11 to 12 age group, while her younger sister Nanaka will compete in the 50m breaststroke and 100m IM in the 9 to 10 division. Tenorio is also entered in the 100m IM, while his other event is the 50mbackstroke in the 11 to 12 age group. Batallones has the boys 11 to 12’s 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly, the same two events lined up for the 10-year-old Camacho. Aleksenko is also joining the 50m freestyle race and adding the 50m butterfly event in the 9 to 10 division, while the 9-year-old Dangol has the 50m butterfly swim, too in her schedule, plus the 100m IM.

All seven have won medals in Guam tournaments in the past so experience in off-island competitions will not be a problem. Camacho, Aika, and Batallones, however, will be making their debuts in the Tokyo Junior Sprint 2016, while the other members of the team are returnees.

This year’s Tsunami Saipan squad is the second biggest crew the club sent in the sprint tournament. Last year, the group fielded the most swimmers (9). In its debut in 2008, Tsunami Saipan sent only one swimmer (Kensuke Kimura), while the club had two and five in 2009 and 2010 before having six in 2012 and four in 2014.