Representing the Cook Islands, 17‑year‑olds Mia Laban and Jacob Story made their return to the global stage at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore 2025. A tremendous honour for both these young swimmers.
Mia was first off the blocks for the Cook Islands in the Women’s 100m Butterfly. At just 17 years old, Mia already has a wealth of experience, having competed last month at the Pacific Mini Games in Palau and previously at the 2024 World Championships in Budapest.
As Mia took her place in the outside lane she was in the same heat as fellow Pacific islander Amaya Bollinger from Guam, adding a special sense of regional pride to the lineup. Her personal best going into the meet stood at 1:06.17, achieved earlier this year at the Apollo Projects New Zealand Swimming Championships. Today she knocked a second off her personal best with an impressive time of 1:05.41, a great result for Mia’s first day in the pool. As Mia entered the pool deck she reflected on the difference this competition is to her previous worlds performance in Hungary last December, “walking out to the pool in front of the massive stadium was a lot different compared to Hungary. I feel like in Hungary it felt a bit smaller because it was 25 meters but on the training sessions when I came to the pool the competition pool looked really big, it looked really long and so it did nerve-wrack me a little and walking out today was like wow because the crowd was just huge and the stadium was full, so it’s really surreal!”.
Despite the nerves Mia had a great performance in the pool – starting with a solid reaction time of 0.74, this strong start served her well and she came in second for her heat. A highlight for Mia in this competition is seeing some of the ‘big guys’ in the competition “seeing those guys in the call room was really cool.” Being in this impressive competition has not phased Mia, she now prepares for her next race on day five to compete in the 100m Freestyle, ahead of this she intends to do a lot of training “I want to be ready for that one as well”.
Having watched Mia from the stands, Jacob later entered the pool for the Men’s 100m Breaststroke. Fresh from racing at the Pacific Mini Games last month and after his World short course experience in Budapest in 2024, Jacob was eager to put his training to the test. Diving into the water with an impressive reaction time of 0.71 and full of gratitude, Jacob shared his feelings about being at this prestigious event “I’m just so grateful to be at this meet. Not many people can say they’ve been to a World Championships, let alone three. So I’m just really soaking up this moment and soaking up this atmosphere”. This incredibly positive attitude really served Jacob well as he went on to have a fantastic race, securing a new personal best and national record with a blazing time of 1.02.93.
This moment was not lost on Jacob as he recalls the preparation required coming straight out of the Pacific Mini Games just last month “I’m really, really, really happy with the time because after the Mini Games I had such a short turnaround so trying to get back into the rhythm with swimming was really hard for me and it was a mental struggle and also a physical struggle, so turning around and seeing a 102 getting under the 103 for the first time my whole life was so magical and I’m just so grateful”.
Jacob is not new to the world stage but he describes the electric atmosphere of this meet “I was just looking around and I was like wow this is amazing you know there are so many people in the stands cheering for people of their country. And I thought it was just so amazing. And then getting to walk out into it was a little bit daunting. I walked out and just looked up into the stands and saw how massive it was. It kind of makes the pool look bigger than it really is and I think just trying to soak it all in and enjoy it has been so fun for me”. With this gracious and joy seeking attitude it’s clear to see how Jacob was able to achieve his personal best.
Jacob will be back in the pool on day five for the Men’s 200m Breaststroke, aiming to finish his Singapore campaign with another strong performance, he walks into the event “putting my best foot forward for my country and myself”.
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Written by The Reporters’ Academy