Rezne crushes CNMI 100m breaststroke mark

After a so-so debut in the 2011 Summer Universiade, CNMI swimmer Rezne Wong redeemed himself with a record-breaking swim in the 100m breaststroke race yesterday at the Natatorium of Universiade Center in Shenzhen, China.

Wong timed in at 1:07.66 seconds in the qualifying heat for the 100m breaststroke event, chopping off more than one second from his personal best time and resetting the CNMI mark. The 20-year-old swimmer held the previous CNMI record in the 100m breaststroke event at 1:08.79, which he logged on July 26, 2009 during the 13th FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy.

The University of Hawaii-Manoa swimmer was on Heat 3 and finished sixth out of nine swimmers, beating two Chinese bets and one from Netherlands Antilles. Wong completed the first 50m of the race in 31.95 seconds, which is only .33 of a second behind his PBT and CNMI record and then slowed down a bit in the last 50m, timing in at 35.71 seconds.

Switzerland’s Killian Bossard topped the qualifying heat with a time of 1:04.68, while New Zealand’s Gleen Snyders had the fastest time in the field at 1:00.87 and led seven others to the finals. The 100m breaststroke event featured 55 swimmers with Wong placing 38th.

Wong’s record-shattering swim came two days after he failed to surpass his PBT and CNMI mark in one of his favorite events—the 200m breaststroke. The Marianas High School graduate competed in the qualifying heat in the 200m breaststroke last Sunday and clocked in at 2:27.17, which was about four seconds (2:23.35) behind the CNMI record which he logged just last month, also in China during the 14th FINA World Championships.

After his first event n Shenzhen, Wong took a one-day rest and the break seemed to have paid off for the Commonwealth bet, as he returned to the pool and posted his first record in the Games.

The CNMI swimmer will also be at the pool today and this time he will join two qualifying races, the 100m butterfly and the 200m individual medley. At stake in this morning’s competition is the 24-year record of Alex Screen in the 100m butterfly (59.00 seconds/Aug. 25, 1987). Wong owns the CNMI mark in the 200m IM, recording 2:10.18 during the World Championships in Shanghai, China, last month.

Wong’s last event in Shenzhen will be tomorrow’s 50m breaststroke race. His PBT and also the CNMI record in 50m breaststroke event stands at 31.62 seconds and was posted on July 28, 2009 during the World Championships in Italy.