Taiyo breaks 50m breaststroke age group record

Taiyo Akimaru made like a dolphin and swam to the CNMI 50m breaststroke 17-18 age group record during his stint in the Oceania Swimming Championships 2024 held at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, in Southport, Queensland, Australia last Tuesday.

The Marianas High School senior clocked in at 31.51 seconds in the finals, beating the old record of 31.62 seconds set by Rezne Wong. In the prelims, Akimaru set a personal best time of 31.83 seconds before improving it in the finals.

Akimaru also set a new PB in the 50m freestyle with a time of 25.41 seconds and reached the finals.

Along with his achievements, his fellow swimmers also set some personal records in their respective events.

Savita Sikkel recorded a new PB in the 50m breaststroke with a time of 39.83. Jinie Thomspon swam it at 40.10 seconds, and Nagi Tenorio recorded 43.61 seconds.

Michael Miller also set a new PB in the 50m breaststroke and clocked in at 36.19 seconds, and a new PB in the 100m butterfly with a time of 1:09.79.

Moshe Sikkel recorded a new PB in the 200m backstroke at 2:30.58, and Piper Raho recorded a 2:44.97 200m backstroke.

Yesterday, Tenorio’s time of 36.80 seconds was a PB in the 50m freestyle, while Savita also set a new PB with a time of 31.30 seconds.

The 18-year-old Akimaru said about breaking the record, “[it] felt good when I broke the record. All the other swimmers that swam with me really pushed me to swim fast.” As for the competition, Akimaru said it was fun and that his goal was to beat his best time, with the record in the way to his PB.

Akimaru is a graduating senior and is on the hunt for a college where he can continue to swim and hopefully, he can pass on skills to the next generation of swimmers.

When asked whether he’ll compete in the 2024 Micronesian Games, he said he won’t as he’ll be busy applying for college.

As the team wrapped up their last events last night, head coach Richard Sikkel said he’s happy with the team’s performance. “Everyone swam several personal bests. We managed to reset a few records, but more importantly gained more experience in terms of race prep and race readiness,” he said.

Sikkel added that, while “the records are cool and validation for the swimmers that their practice bears fruit, the camaraderie amongst the team members and other Oceania nations is what makes these events special. Lifelong friendships are forged during these events.”

For himself, he said that, “it was great to catch up with other coaches, especially coach Bill Sakovich.”

His personal favorite in the championships was seeing Akimaru set a new record as “he didn’t really focus on breaststroke until we changed his stroke for the Pacific Games, and to see him shave seconds off his previous time is pretty special. He is such a hard worker and he deserves to reap the rewards of that hard work.”