Tsunami Saipan eyes medals, records in Guam

Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan will send 14 swimmers in Guam to compete in the 2009 Guam Championships this weekend at the Agatna Swimming Pool.

Representing Tsunami Saipan in the weekend tournament are Ryosei and Kosei Toda, Hiroto and Kaito Yanai, Takumi Sugie, Ashley and Marystar Welch, Angel De Jesus, Kaisei Toda, Shin and Kensuke Kimura, Rezne Wong, Cooper Graf, and Kai Staal.

Joining the team in Guam is Tsunami Saipan coach Hiro Kimura, who is confident his wards can bring home a lot of medals from the two-day meet and break several records.

“I expect Tsunami Saipan swimmers to win more than 50 medals and set several new records,” Kimura said in an email to Saipan Tribune.

Tsunami Saipan swimmers have been preparing for the Guam tournament for the past several months. Besides their daily training sessions at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool in Marpi, Tsunami Saipan tankers also had a warm-up event for the Guam championship last month with Hiro’s wards battling Saipan Swim Club swimmers in a dual meet.

Ryosei, Hiroto, Kaito, Kensuke, and Staal shattered several CNMI age group marks in the Tsunami Saipan-SSC dual meet and these record-setting performances will be a big boost in their bids for breaking more records in the Guam tournament.

Kimura recorded two new marks in the boys’ 11 to 12 age group in the dual meet, namely the 800m freestyle and 200m breaststroke events. Staal, who moved up to the 15 to 16 division, set a new record in the 50m backstroke.

Ryosei eclipsed the 30-year record in the 100m and 200m freestyle swims, and the 100m breaststroke event in the 8-and-under age group. Hiroto crushed another 30-year record in the 50m freestyle in the same age group, while older brother, Kaito, posted a new mark in the 200m individual medley in the 9 to 10 age group.

These five outstanding swimmers and the rest of Tsunami Saipan tankers will leave for Guam Friday morning. The tournament will start Friday afternoon and will run until Saturday. Tsunami Saipan bets will be back on Saipan Sunday night.

Coach Kimura said besides the 14 swimmers, a couple more Tsunami Saipan bets met the qualifying time for the Guam tournament, but they could not make the trip due to problems on travel documents. Next year, Kimura is hoping more Tsunami Saipan swimmers can participate in the two-day tournament to move their level of competitiveness one or two notches higher.