Hiro blames himself for Isaiah DQ in 200m IM
National swimming coach Hiroyuki Kimura blames himself for Isaiah Aleksenko’s ill-fated swim in the 200m individual medley in last week’s 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar.
The 17-year-old was on his way to breaking fellow Saipan Community School alumnus Rezne Wong’s 200m IM age group record when disaster struck in the form of a dreaded disqualification.
“Isaiah swam bravely, then he marked new CNMI record time—2:12.31! We were so excited to break Rezne Wong’s 17-18 record of 2:14. 48. However, tragedy hit us as Isaiah was disqualified in the individual medley. But I believe it is a process in which the sport of swimming is evolving.”
The many-time national swimming coach said in recent years, video has been introduced in all sports, especially in swimming and the sport has become stricter when it comes to monitoring legal strokes.
“There is an underwater camera in each lane now and many other underwater cameras are placed to shoot swimmers from all angles. The footage is then played back and thoroughly checked after the race. Isaiah’s DSQ this time could not be determined by conventional judgment systems (only human eyes from pool deck), but it was revealed using technology. Although it is very disappointing to lose the CNMI record in the 17-18, I think this is also proof that the sport of swimming is evolving,” he said.
Kimura finally got to examine the video proof himself the next day and acknowledged that the decision to disqualify his swimmer was correct.
“We watched his underwater video in the official video room. One of his legs was a little wavy after the breaststroke kick. In breaststroke, both the stroke and the kick must be symmetrical, so this is a clearly DSQ. Before, it was a difficult to judge just from the pool deck. In the future, NMI swimmers participating in international competitions should check their form more seriously and carefully every regular practice. Isaiah’s DSQ this time served as a lesson that things can happen even to swimmers who have practiced as much as Isaiah.”
Kimura was quick to absolve Aleksenko and said his ward’s disqualification falls squarely on his shoulders.
“I feel so sorry for Isaiah. This DSQ is the coach’s fault. He swam greatly with his best effort!”
The day prior to Aleksenko’s 200m IM debacle, the Marianas High School senior swam the 200m butterfly and the outcome was also not what Kimura hoped for.
“He missed his best time. The result was 2:10.71. His best time and the CNMI national record is 2:05.86. It’s all my fault. My mistake was making a practice plan on Saipan as a short course race. The preparation for long and short is so big different. If we had good preparation for long course like in the Solomon Islands, Isaiah’s result would be different definitely. Like the 200m IM, it’s all the coach’s fault,” said Kimura.
Aleksenko, for his part, admitted that he was disappointed about his Doha stint, but eventually chalked everything up to experience.
“I was pretty disappointed with my DQ but it’s a learning experience and something that I can get better from. It was a very small mistake that got me this DQ and I will learn from it and I will work even harder for my next competitions,” he said.
Isaiah Aleksenko
