11 more swimming golds; Nauru now atop medal tally

With Maria Batallones, Frances Raho, Kean Pajarillaga, and Isaiah Aleksenko adding two more individual gold medals each to their already impressive haul, the CNMI again exhibited utter domination of the swimming competition in the 2024 Micronesian Games yesterday in the isolated military outpost of Kwajalein, Marshall Islands.

Batallones spearheaded the NMI National Swimming Team’s efforts in the Kwajalein Pool by topping the women’s 50-yard breaststroke in 31.05.

After a hiccup in the women’s 100-yard butterfly against Palau’s Misech Dirngulbai (1:01.50-1:02.64), Batallones dominated the women’s 100-yard individual medley with a time of 1:02.16.

She then teamed up with Raho, Maria Guerrero, and Shoko Litulumar to give the CNMI gold in the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:53.36.

Raho, meanwhile, seems to have gotten a liking in striking gold as she did so in the women’s 500-yard freestyle (5:46.71) and women’s 200-yard backstroke (2:18.12). Sari Barmen took the bronze in the former with a time of 6:14.29, while Litulumar bagged the silver in the latter in 2:20.38.

Aleksenko’s two gold medals came in the men’s 100-yard butterfly (47.09) and men’s 100-yard IM (49.92), while also joining Pajarillaga, Michael Miller, and Kouki Watanabe to win gold in the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay (3:17.87).

Pajarillaga was golden in the men’s 500-yard freestyle (4:55.73) and the men’s 200-yard backstroke (1:56.04). In both events, Justin Ma took the bronze in 5:11.25 for the former and 2:10.70 for the latter.

Outside of the four, Watanabe managed to squirrel away a gold medal in the men’s 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 54.82. He also came in third to Aleksenko in the men’s 100-yard butterfly (54.82).

Batallones said she fought her hardest today in the 100-yard IM, which also was her best swim.

“I think I now know what stroke to train more when I get back home, which is the butterfly. I placed second, but I fought hard, and to me, it still feels like a win. The 100-yard IM felt the best because I placed first for that right after my 100-yard butterfly. Every stroke and turns I felt amazing. I saw myself ahead of everyone and I made sure to maintain my spot. Touching the wall and seeing my team celebrate my win made me really happy. I want to thank everyone who pushed me to my limits during training in and out of the pool. They remind me of how worth it all of it is in the end,” she said.

Raho said the hardest part of yesterday’s swims were the back-to-backs, but they were also the most fulfilling.

“My best swim was the 200-yard backstroke because I wasn’t expecting to win. It was also after my 500-yard freestyle so I had to work to win the 200-yard backstroke. Again, I want to thank my family, friends, coaches, and swim mates,” she said.

Pajarillaga said it feels great the CNMI just keeps winning gold medals in the Micro Games.

“I would say my best swim was my 200-yard backstroke. I felt like that was my best swim because I got the time I wanted to get and I was ahead of the silver medalist by a lot. I want to thank my coach, his wife, my family, my friends, and the CNMI swimming team for believing in me,” he said.

For Aleksenko, his best swim yesterday was the 100-yard butterfly.

“Because I was so close to the college record and I got a personal best. I would like to again thank God, my mom, my family, my coach, Miss Yuko [Kimura], and my teammates and friends,” he said.

Despite winning two individual gold medals so far, Watanabe said his mission is still not complete.

“It’s great that I was able to win the gold in the 100-yard breastroke and 50-yard breaststroke, but I am not quite satisfied with the time I got. I will have to refine my techniques again so that I can reach for a faster time next,” he said.

National swimming coach Hiroyuki Kimura said Barman was amazing yesterday because at only 13 years old, she already medaled in the Micro Games. Same for Guerrero, the team’s second Maria, who is also only 13 years old.

“Sari finally won a medal in an individual event! For her, this Micro Games is her first time in international competition and also her first time to represent the CNMI,” he said.

The swimmers’ 11-2-4 gold-silver-bronze haul gave the CNMI 37 gold medals, 16 silver, and 14 bronze, but Nauru went ahead in the medal tally thanks to their weightlifters as they sit atop with 46 gold medals, 10 silver, and 3 bronze. Third place currently is host Marshall Islands with 8 gold, 18 silver, and 26 bronze.

Incidentally, the CNMI is a mere eight medals away from eclipsing the record 44-gold medal output set in the 2010 Micro Games in Palau.