Kento, Jinju win anew
Saipan Swim Club’s Kento Akimaru and Jinju Thompson led the finishers in the 2018 Meek & Mighty Ocean Swim held last Saturday in the waters off Pacific Islands Club.
Kento was the No. 1 overall finisher in the longest race of the day, completing the three-loop course (nearly three kilometers) in 32:00 for this third straight victory in the same event. Kento crossed the finish line less than a minute ahead of Jinnosuke Suzuki, who clocked in at 32:34 to beat his older brother Lennosuke Suzuki (33:59). Christian Villacrusis and David Boyer, who timed in at 34:19 and 35:02, respectively, completed the Top 5 in the men’s division.
In the women’s division, Jinju was the first out of the water and seventh overall after recording 35:12. Her mark in last weekend’s race was faster than her 2017 winning time (34:58). Joining Jinju in the Top 3 in the women’s field were Sophia Gauran (37:66) and the former’s sister Jinie (41:19).
Seven other swimmers completed the three-course lap and the list included Anthony Camacho-Deleon Guerrero (35:03), Hessel Yntema (46:26), Taiyo Akimaru (39:38), Jon Turner (49:34), Emily Northrop (48:03), Manny Sitchon (58:10), and Mark Isip (1:02:10).
Meanwhile, in the two-loop course (about 2K), youth swimmer Wataru Kadokura was the first male and No. 1 overall finisher as he made it to the shore at the 33:50 mark. He was about a minute ahead of women’s champion and fellow SSC member Kaithlynn Chavez, who lost a few seconds after heading to the wrong direction on the way to the finish line and ended up timing in at 33:51.
Adult swimmer Florence Antonio of Dolphin Club Saipan came in at third overall after checking in at 35:04 and was followed by Matthew Milo (36:22), Leo Wania (36:53), Mark Chavez (38:09.05), Savita Sikkel (38:09.07), Buboy Aguilar (40:33), John Moreno (44:04), Julia Aleksenko (46:08), and Chan Wang Jang (59:10).
In other results, Kaithlynn and Mark’s sister, Julie Ann, was the top finisher in the one-loop race (nearly 1K) after completing the swim in 19:32. Marini Milo came in at second with her 20:19, while Jonathan Wilberscheid rounded out the Top 3 overall after registering 22:57. Other finishers in the division were Dolphin Club Saipan’s Gemmilie Anne Eugenio (24:20) and Michael Hidalgo (24:28), and father and son Richard (25:02.70) and Moshe Sikkel (25:02.68).
