Winkfield lauds swimmers performance in Doha

Coach Jacoby Winkfield, left, and former Saipan Swim Club coach Bill Sakovich, third right, pose with the five CNMI swimmers who competed and joined the youth program in the 12th FINA World Swimming Championships (25M) last week at the Hamad Aquatic Centre in Doha, Qatar. (Contributed Photo)

“From a performance standpoint they all did exceptional. They all swam personal best times, which were encouraging since they were able to do so in a very big stage. They grew from the experience of having to perform at their best under pressure,” said Winkfield, who was talking of Victoria Chentsova, Takumi Sugie, and Christian Villacrusis.

Chentsova joined the 400m and 800m freestyle races and recorded personal best times in both events. She registered 9:55.15 in the 800m freestyle to surpass her qualifying time (10:11.26) and then cut more than six seconds from her qualifying time (4:53.64) in the 400 freestyle after logging 4:47.05.

Villacrusis and Sugie duplicated Chentsova’s feat. Both male swimmers earned PBTs in the 100m freestyle with Sugie submitting 59.38 seconds (from 1:00.67) and Villacrusis clocking in at 1:00.88 (from 1:05.29). In the 100 breaststroke, Villacrusis PBT was 1:18.93, about four seconds faster than his qualifying mark (1:22.35). Sugie’s second PBT came in the 50m freestyle, as he timed in at 26.94 seconds (from 27.88 seconds).

Besides their notable performance in the races, Winkfield also lauded the three CNMI swimmers’ showing off the pool.

“They learned a lot from watching world class athletes both in and out of the water. From how they carried themselves on the deck and in the water to how they warmed up and mentally prepared, and seeing how much dedication and commitment it take to be able to swim fast,” said Winkfield.

The coach also mentioned the valuable experience David Boyer and Angel De Jesus learned from the event’s youth program. The two young swimmers were joined by former CNMI coach and Saipan Swim Club founder Bill Sakovich in the five-day event.

“They had sessions on nutrition, talks from former Olympians on how to be an athlete, video sessions where stroke and technique were analyzed, and trained daily with all the other participants. To top it all off they had a mini swim meet on the last day of the program. They also attended the finals each night and were able to witness the 18 world records broken over the course of the five-day meet,” Winkfield said.

“All the swimmers represented the CNMI with pride and they were great ambassadors. It was neat seeing them having fun with other teams, developing friendships, and growing as student-athletes,” he added. (Saipan Tribune)