Wong, Staal joining Jr. Pan Pacific meet

After their record-breaking swims in the 2008 Guam International Swim Meet last month, Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan’s Rezne Wong and Kai Staal are facing a bigger and tougher tournament in Guam next week.

Wong and Staal will be competing in the 2009 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, which Guam will be hosting from Jan. 7 to 12.

Besides Guam and CNMI swimmers, the six-day meet will also feature tankers from the mainland, Japan, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Mexico, Guatemala, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Macau, and Palau.

Wong and Staal were the only two swimmers from the Commonwealth who qualified for the 18-and-under swimming championships having achieved at least a Triple A time in the Guam Swimming Federation qualifying standard times.

Wong’ s CNMI National Record in the 100m breaststroke (1:10:21) is even past the Four As in GSF standard (1:11.52). His time is about seven seconds behind the Olympic B time.

Wong’s 2:30.54 mark in the 200m breaststroke (another CNMI record) is also under the Four As time (2:35.00) and is more than 12 seconds behind the Olympic B time.

Swimmers who achieved Four As time can compete in World Championships and Pan Pacific Championships. Triple A time will bring swimmers in the East Asia, Oceania Junior, and Pac Pacific meets. Double A time is good for South Pacific Games and Mini SPG, while an A time is for Micronesian Games.

Staal’s 2:07.15 time in the 200m freestyle in Guam last month is not only a new CNMI mark in the boys’ 13 to 14 age group, but was enough to earn him a Triple A time (2:09.46).

His 25.68 seconds in the 50m split in the 200m freestyle relay in the All Schools meet in November was past the Four As mark (26 seconds) and is just more than two second behind the Olympic B time.

Staal’s 57.46 seconds in the 100m freestyle, also recorded in the All Schools meet, qualified for a Triple A time range (58.66 seconds).

Tsunami Saipan coach Hiro Kimura said the club is looking for more record-setting performances from Wong and Staal in the Pac Pacific meet next week.

“In swimming, the most important thing is not the color of medal, but the content—that is if medal is worth the record,” he said.

“Even if the swimmer won the gold medal, there is no value in such a thing at all if the time is slower than the previous record,” Kimura added.