NMI swimmers dominate ocean swim

The CNMI National Swimming Team proved equally adept in open water as they were in the pool after dominating anew the 2024 Micronesian Games’ ocean swim early Friday morning off Emon Beach in Kwajalein.

NMI swimmers won gold in both the men’s and women’s 5K open water swim with Kean Pajarillaga and Maria Batallones submitting times of 1:01:52.00 and 1:07:25.00, respectively. Sari Barman was third for the women with a time 1:20:31.00

Isaiah Aleksenko also ruled the men’s 2.5K open water swim after he emerged from the surf in 28:44.00. Richard Zhao added a bronze in 33:15.63. Shoko Litulumar settled for the silver in the women’s 5K open water swim after she clocked in at 35:10.00, while Frances Raho was third in 35:19.00. The NMI Swim Team also won the mixed 5K open water relay swim with Aleksenko, Pajarillaga, Batallones, and Raho timing in at 1:00.38.7.

CNMI national coach Hiroyuki Kimura gave kudos not only to NMI swimmers but all open water participants for braving exhaustion and fatigue—as well as the searing heat and humidity—to partake on the ocean water swim.

“Usually, the ocean swim event is held on the last day. Everyone goes from the pool event with all their energy zapped and already burned out. I respect that they did their best despite the circumstances. NMI swimmers rarely do ocean swims, but Palau’s Dirngulbai Misech, who won the women’s 2.5-kilometer gold, is a total ocean swimmer. Apparently, they do ocean swims every Saturday. NMI swimmers were admirable because they won and competed with such countries,” he said.

While Kimura said the usual suspects like Pajarillaga, Aleksenko, and Maria Batallones were impressive in the ocean swim, he said Barman surprised him the most with her podium finish.

“I didn’t expect her to come in third place, but I entered confidently that Sari would have the strong patience and power to endure the 5K. She won the bronze medal and defied my expectations. This is a great achievement for a 13-year-old girl,” he said.

Pajarillaga said he was happy to top the 5K open water swim despite unfamiliar conditions.

“The ocean swim was good and very peaceful to swim in an ocean I never swam in before. The best part of the swim was seeing the beautiful ocean and the last lap especially was my motivation to go faster and complete the race. The most challenging thing of the race was the heat of the sun and the length of the race.”

Batallones, for her part, said the ocean swim was a great experience.

“The course was clear and the view was amazing. I’m glad I got to finish the race with another gold medal. It was challenging and it felt long at first, but after the second lap I started to enjoy it. I picked my pace up and I was able to finish my race with a good time. The best part of the swim would probably be the last lap. Seeing the goal and knowing that I got gold was a really good feeling. The most challenging part of the swim was the current picking up during the third lap. It was challenging but I knew how to overcome it. I’m glad I didn’t do this course alone and I really enjoyed ocean swims.”

Aleksenko, meanwhile, said swimming in the suspected shark-infested waters off Emon Beach was truly a one-of-a-kind experience.

“It was good but I was kind of scared because it was very deep and you couldn’t see the bottom at all and they said there were sharks. I think the most challenging part was trying to not focus on the sharks and what could happen,” he said.

The triumphant CNMI National Swimming Team returned to Saipan early yesterday morning.