There’s no doubt the aquatic competition has been a success in its first appearance in the Pacific Mini Games. Whilst the performances in the pool have been eye catching; talk of the atmosphere is also on people’s lips. On Day 3, once again, spectators were swelled by the swimmers’ wider team members and there was a wonderful cultural mix in the air, of instruments, song, cheering and pride. There’s no doubt this gives a boost to every swimmer.
None more so than for the hosts Palau, who picked up a historic first Pacific Mini Games swimming medal. Other notable moments featured Vanuatu continuing to break numerous personal bests and National Records as well as a double family success for Samoa.
Eight gold medals were up for grabs in four different disciplines.
Cook Islands – Laban adds to her collection
Medals keep pouring in for Mia Laban, this time in the Women’s 200m Backstroke final where she took bronze completing the course in 2:18:94. That time saw her improve over 3 seconds from her preliminaries in the morning. The 18 year old, who trains in Auckland with the Howick Pakuranga Swim Club, hasn’t gone a day without a medal so far in Palau. Carter Kita Makira over in the Men’s 200m Backstroke qualified out of the heats for his second Final in as many days finishing 6th fastest overall in the event with a time of 2:14.99. A great effort for the 15 year old.
Federated States of Micronesia – Kestra reaps her rewards
It was really positive to see Kestra Kihleng reach her first individual Final at the Games. An absolute just reward for her hard work and the National Records she has been lowering this week. The 21 year old from Pohnpei Swimming Club clocked a time of 1-23.62. It was a particularly pleasing performance after recovering from a bout of illness.
‘I haven’t been feeling well so I’m just trying to get my mindset straight and try to give it all that I got in the water. All that matters is you give your best even if it’s not your best overall. If it’s the best that day, that’s all that matters really.’
There was also a special mention for that island atmosphere,
‘I’m so happy to be here, and I’m so happy to see all the islanders together at the moment and just seeing all my friends.’
Fiji’s team spirit
Day 2 was an incredibly successful day for Fiji. All their swimmers entering the pool picked up a personal best time. An incredible effort for a team of 16, especially when 50% of the team are classed as Juniors under the age of 18, including a first time championship competitor.
This has been a successful Games for David Young having clinched 3 silver medals ahead of today’s 50m Butterfly Final. Aiming to round the set off with a gold, he was just again squeezed out for the top spot by just over half a second. Another silver in a time of 24.33 seconds.
The distance between silver and bronze was even closer, just 100th of a second, with David just finishing ahead of his compatriot Hansel McCaig. This was the 4th medal of the week for Hansel as part of Fiji’s haul of 14. Whilst they are clearly fierce competitors in the same team, the respect stands out as Hansel underlined,
“It’s a really close race and it’s amazing getting to race with this guy, and with him being on the same team it’s an honour. It was a tough race. We’ve got a stacked field and I’m just happy to get on the podium. ‘
Shortly after the race they rushed off to see their team-mates getting the gold and bronze in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke Final. Samuel Yalimaiwai doubled up this week on Breaststroke golds in 1-01.47 with younger swimmer Don Younger clinching his first medal by just 1/10th of a second. His time was 1-04.19 in the same race.
The importance of team spirit and support was not lost on the McCaig and Young. McCaig commenting,
‘Regardless whether swimming is an individual sport, at the end of the day you have a team and being there for each other to lift each other up, that’s what gets us to the wall. There’s a big support system that goes behind it in swimming and we’re just very thankful to have an amazing team. We’ve got young swimmers. Don Younger. It’s his first Mini Games in swimming, so him getting on the podium for a first individual bronze medal. Wow,’
That sentiment wasn’t lost on Don either, as he celebrated his medal.
‘My teammates have been a major part of supporting me and motivating me to swim, especially my captains. They’ve all been a big help to me. Other than that, my family, my mom and my dad, they’ve been supporting me throughout, encouraging me to keep on swimming. It’s thanks to them that I was able to medal.’
Fiji didn’t have to wait much longer for another swimmer to clinch a place on the top step of the podium, with Kelera Mudunasoko obliging in the Women’s 100m Backstroke. She completed the four lengths in 1-12.01. That’s three races and three medals for Kelera this week.
Marseleima Moss finished 4th in the 200m Backstroke Final in a time of 2-26.41.
Fiji rounded off their third competition day in the pool with their women finishing just outside the medals in the 4x 200m Freestyle Relay. Their time was 9-21.36. The men finished their respective relay over the same distance in 8-15.48.
Guam – Loving the atmosphere
All 5 of Guam’s representatives were back in action in the pool on day 3 of the Pacific Mini Games.
Ocean Campus found himself in a race with fellow countryman Jaden Francis in the Men’s 50m Butterfly Heats, the pair were separated by 0.17 seconds with Ocean edging out Jaden, setting 27.38 against Francis’s 27.55. Israel Poppe went in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke and gained a time of 1:08.96. He said afterwards,
“I’ve got faster, so I’m happy with that. I’ve gotten some personal bests too, like in my 100m butterfly.”
Mia Lee progressed out of the heats in the Women’s 50m Butterfly and is surely Guam’s brightest chance of a medal. Amaya Bollinger was under one second back from Mia’s pleasing 29:29. Her time of 30.26 illustrating just how fine the margins are, across these short 50m disciplines.
And so it was time for another evening of Finals at the pool and it was an all too familiar story for Mia, who again went exasperatingly close to a bronze medal, finishing in 29.17. Despite coming so close, she remains positive about her performance at these Games,
‘I went in with a mindset of just swimming my race and doing my thing. It’s not my personal best but I’m okay with it.’
She went on to say,
‘I’m loving being in this atmosphere with my fellow Pacific islanders.”
Mia goes again in the 50m,100m, and 200m Freestyle hoping she can hunt down a medal that has thus far eluded her.
Northern Mariana Islands – Gold again for Isaiah
The Northern Mariana islands continue to impress in the pool, and it’s difficult to keep up, as their individual and collective records continue to tumble in Palau.
Isaiah Aleksenko followed up his gold medal in the longer version of the Butterfly by coming home first in the 50m version. That makes it a haul of 6 medals, including 4 golds for the 19 year old. His medal winning time was 23.78 seconds. Afterwards, he gave a great insight into the preparation of a successful elite athlete as he spoke about the moments before the race,
‘l stretched, meditated a lot, talked to my team-mates so I don’t get too nervous. It definitely helps talking to teammates and family members just to really flush out my brain so I don’t really think about a lot.’
Alongside this, today alone saw 5 individual and relay records beaten. Including that gold medal and 3 silvers.
One of those silvers went to 17 year old Maria Batallones placing second in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke Final in 1-14.03. It was a particularly pleasing result for Maria having told us before the Games that,
‘I’m mostly excited for the Breaststroke events because I want to see how much I’ve improved. ‘
Well, that measurement can now be measured in silver.
Kouki Watanabe aged 17 particularly enjoys the Breaststroke discipline and this showed today when he qualified for the Men’s Final of the 100m Breaststroke and posted a time of 1-05.44. A time which was inside his World short Course Championship time last December in Budapest.
Kean Pajarillaga aged 18 is enthusiastic to make the most of his technique in the Backstroke discipline. Things seem to be developing nicely as he picked up his 4th medal of these Games in the 200m backstroke Final. He stopped the watch at 2-07.29. Afterwards he gave his reaction to the silver medal.
‘It was pretty good. I tried to speed up the last hundred but my legs were kind of giving out. I just kind of gave it my all. My coach told me I got a best time. So, I’m happy about that. It feels like an honour. I feel like I represented my country well, and I came back with something, so I’m pretty happy.’
The team completed another successful day in the pool by both the men and women competing in the 4 x 200m Freestyle Relays. The women posted a time of 9-34.62 in finishing 5th. Preceding this the men picked up yet another medal. This time silver in colour as they stopped the clock at 7-53.76. The team of Moshe Sikkel, Justin Ma, Kean Pajarillaga and Isaiah Aleksenko were understandably happy and stressed the importance of enjoying being a team.
‘The secret is just good teamwork. We like to really motivate each other. So if one of us have doubts, we talk to each other and make sure that they go in the race with a good mindset. We like to just support each other, really.’
Historic day for Palau
Kazuumi Nestor, just sixteen, reached his 4th individual Final as he stepped on the blocks for the 200m Backstroke. He completed the 8 lengths in 2-10.60, a new National Record for Palau. A fantastic moment for the young swimmer. However, his eyes were already on the next opportunity as he gave a nod to the upcoming 4 x 200m Men’s Freestyle Relay.
‘I think our team is pretty strong but we have to be humble. I think we got to do our best for us to podium. We have some veterans in our team, they’re really experienced. I’m not really that experienced and I can get really nervous. They know how to support people who are nervous, so it’s good for me so I don’t break down through the nervousness and pressure.’
He need not have worried as history was made in the very last swimming event of Day 3. A bronze medal for the men’s relay team in 7-57.33. History for the host nation, with their first swimming medal in a Mini Games. The team made up of Travis Sakurai, Noel Keane, Charlie Gibbons and Kazuumi Nestor enjoyed their moment in front of their home supporters. They reflected upon their achievement.
‘It feels pretty good. All the hard work paid off. It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been training since we’ve been little kids, every day. Every day from 4.30 to 7. Yeah, we train every day here at this pool.’
The home crowd were delighted also to see Palau’ women’s 4x200m freestyle final team made up of Yuri Hosei, Hanna Ruluked, Taira Kishigawa and Lisa Ruluked.
The quad of swimmers finished in 6th position with an electric crowd cheering them until they tapped the wall.
After the race, 20-year-old Yuri Hosei, who is the oldest amongst a very youthful team, said, “Personally, it wasn’t the best race for me, but the girls did really well.” On her younger teammates, Yuri said, “These kids are fast. Their times and the rest of the countries are insane, and it is very inspiring. I’m learning from them for this competition.”
Despite being only thirteen years old, Hanna shared some advice on a motto she lives by.
“It might be hard, but you have to push yourself. It will be hard at first, but it will be good in the end.”
Papua New Guinea – Jhnayli continues to sparkle
Jhnayli Tokome-Garap went close to adding a bronze to her medal tally, coming up just short in the Women’s 50m Butterfly Final. 29:11 left her just 0.25 seconds away from a medal. Reacting to her race she said,
“I feel happy that I dropped at least my Prelims time but I do wish that I got under my PB”
But what is it like being stood up on the blocks just before such a short race where every tiny detail counts?
“It’s nerve-wracking, you’re kind of shaky, your heart’s beating, but you’re just there to swim. Swim your race.”
Jhnayli goes again in the 50m Freestyle on Friday which she describes as her “main event.” We look forward to seeing how she gets on.
Nathaniel Noka narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Final with his effort of 26.22 in a very competitive Men’s 50m Butterfly finishing 2 places outside of a Finals spot.
Samoa’s a happy swimming family
Paige Schendelaar Kemp continues to lead from the front for Samoa. Already the proud recipient of a gold and two bronze medals at these Games, she added the 50m Short Course Butterfly title in a time of 27.57 seconds. Quite rightly she struck a proud figure with a beaming smile on the podium, as the Samoan spectators and team serenaded her victory.
In the Men’s 50m Butterfly Hector Langkilde added to his short course experience by just missing out on a medal in a strong field, posting 24.99 in 4th place. Johann Stickland maintained a strong family tradition of performing well for his country with a time of 25.25.
Another busy day for the Hamilton siblings erupted when firstly Solomona romped home in the Men’s 200m Backstroke in 2-05.36 before seeing his sister win her equivalent race in 2-18.29. It was a remarkable moment for the family to share in the pool, which they’ll long remember.
Solomona first,
‘I had a bit of a rough Heat swim today. I was a bit under the weather, but I just went home after my Heat, had a good rest, came back tonight, energised. My aim was to push the first 100 and just hold on.’
For Nafanua, the enormity of the achievement was still sinking in,
‘It’s still very unreal at the moment. I’m very happy, very proud. I started a bit behind the pack and then I think I just did well catching up. It was very up to the touch with the Tahiti and the Cook Islands.’
…and thoughts on her brother going gold?
‘ Great! Yeah I’ve always followed in his footsteps and I’m really happy to share that with him.’
Of course, it was important to catch up with Team Manager and very proud mother, Ivapene Seiuli to reflect on a wonderful moment.
‘I probably have no words. It’s very rare for me not to have words. I’m still up in the clouds. I haven’t quite come down yet. I thought I was going to just explode with delight and excitement. All the morning training, the evenings, the packing the breakfasts as you drive them and all those things now are just like this moment’s just a dream come true for any parent. That support has come from our whole family and our villages. Hopefully all the children in Samoa could see that it can happen as well.’ Ivapene was keen to highlight their collective thanks to the Samoan Government, Samoa Swimming & Samoa National Olympic Committee.
Even then Nafanua wasn’t finished for the day and completed her Final of the 100m Breaststroke in a time of 1-16.12.
A notable mention too for Salani Sa’aga who also made the Final of the Women’s 200m Backstroke and recorded 2-28.98.
Rounding off Samoa’s evening in the pool were the 4 x 200m Freestyle Relays. The women picked up a silver medal in a time of 8-51.05. The men posted 8-02.57 to just miss out on a medal in 4th place.
Tonga – Progression for all to see
Tonga can reflect on a hugely successful Day 3 of competition in Palau with great pride. The team kept displaying individual progression, evident by the fact five new personal bests were set today along with a National Record which was sent tumbling.
It was Carolann Faeamani, already the National Record holder in the Women’s 200m Backstroke, who set a 2:36.40 in the morning Heats — smashing her previous mark to lower the National Record further. She is clearly enjoying her time in Palau.
“Being able to swim right next to the ocean is pretty cool. And warming down in the ocean as well as warming up in the ocean is really fun.”
In the Men’s 50m Butterfly, Alexander Villami recorded a strong PB time of 30.28, an improvement of 1.08s on his previous. Finau Ohuafi dominated his heat to place 1st, booking a spot in the final with a lightning fast 25.41. In the final he went even better recording a new PB of 25:13 landing him 5th spot overall.
Vaoahi Afu finished in 1:19.80 in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke Prelims which booked the 18 year old’s spot in the second Final of the day for Tonga. Her time of 1:18.59 this evening, placed her 5th overall with another PB.
Vanuatu – trusting the process
Day 2 had seen Vanuatu pick up five personal bests and two National Records. A developing team who are clearly developing quickly and positively at these Games.
A significant element of that, is that swimmers are trusting the process and the experience that their coaching and management team bring. As 18 year old swimmer, Leo Lebot points out,
‘I’m gonna keep doing the same thing I’ve done so far, so the same routine in the morning with the same race warm up, talking to my coach, getting lots of feedback, because it’s worked really well so far.’
It’s also enjoyable to be part of the team. National Record holder Loanne Russett expands on this,
‘It’s really fun. We come from a country where the facilities are limited but you just don’t give up, you give the best of yourself. And then there’s always room for progress. Just be motivated, love your sport, keep going.’
Fantastic attitudes which are leading to success on a daily basis. Today was no different.
Day 3 gave up a further two National Records and seven personal best times across four events.
Elven Todman with 32.64 and Dani Teilemb with a time of 33.96 recorded personal bests in the Men’s 50m Butterfly. Chloe Ameara swam a personal best of 38.91 to finish in the women’s version.
Léo Lebot picked up yet another National Record in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke, stopping the clock at 1.18.56. Dani Teilemb with 1.32.22 and Robsen Dick in 1.42.31, swam personal bests in the same event.
Lou-Anne Delrieu recorded yet another National Record, this time in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke. The time being 1.32.08 to keep the momentum going for Vanuatu.
Finally news from our Oceania Aquatics none affiliated members New Caledonia and Tahiti:
Baldovini at the double for New Caledonia
Manon Baldovini made it a double bronze in the Women’s individual disciplines when she finished third with a time of 1-14.35 in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke. Needless to say, it’s a tiring schedule for the swimmers as she commented,
‘It was quite hard being the third day of the Pacific Mini Games, but I knew it was going to be hard and I just pushed myself to do the best I can. I make sure to swim a lot, drink a lot too and just do some recovery massage. It’s still a medal so I’m quite happy.’
Clara Delunel finished 6th in the Women’s 50m Breaststroke final in 29.88 seconds, in the early evening session.
Yaron Nodanche finished 4th in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke in a time of 1-04.29.
Lusia-Laa AH SCHA also finished 4th in the Women’s 200m backstroke Final.
New Caledonia’s Finals’ session was bookended by another bronze medal and New Caledonia’s 11th swimming medal of the Games as they came 3rd in the 4 x200m Freestyle Relay in 8-53.33.
Tahiti – Another powerful display
Deotille Videau can’t get into the pool these days without emerging with a medal. Her duo of silvers in the Women’s 200m Backstroke and 50m Butterfly Finals on day 3, brings her individual tally to 8 for the Games so far, making her the most decorated swimmer, at just 16 years of age.
Nael Roux isn’t far behind with his personal tally of 5 medals adding a silver today in the 100m Breaststroke with his time of 1:01.69. Iti-Heimaru Bonnard secured her first medal with a bronze in the 50m butterfly. Sosthene Videau also swam to bronze in the Men’s 200m Backstroke with 2:08.17 before Team Tahiti showed their collective strength in both the Men’s and Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle with 2 golds to wrap up another successful day at the pool.
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Words & interviews: The Reporters’ Academy. Photos: Ryota Nishida