Stood in the interview area awaiting Pacific island swimmers for an interview, there are no more welcome sights than a huge smile heading your way. These 50m World Championships have seen them in abundance. Federated States of Micronesia’s Kestra Kihleng was the latest to emerge happy after her 100m Freestyle Heat having just posted 1-03.30. A new National Record.
‘I’m really happy. I’ve been aiming to get under 1-04. I was aiming for a 1-02, but I know that will come sooner or later. I’ve been kind of going through a little rough patch at the moment, so I’m just really happy to get that time.’
The 21 year old comes from a rich family heritage of swimmers from Pohnpei and is naturally experienced in following a race plan.
‘Going out, I felt really strong. At the 75 I felt good, but then once the last 25 hit I can feel the lactate start to hit and my arms were slowly dying. I can see on the side people slowly catching up so, I just really had to fight through that last 15 metres.’
It’s been a busy schedule for Kestra, having only just recently attended the Pacific Mini Games in Palau. Was there any reaction to that?
‘I only got back two weeks ago, I got sick… and I didn’t do too well. So, I was really nervous about this competition because it’s a really big one and I was worried I wasn’t going to do well in this one as well. Luckily, I was able to recover pretty quickly and get back to it.’
Having lowered her own National Record today, it’s a quick turn round, before diving back into the pool tomorrow in the Women’s 50m Butterfly. She explained how she’s relaxed ahead of that.
‘Yeah, I have the 50 Fly, it’s a shorter one so it should be more fun. I’m aiming to get that under 30 seconds but we’ll see.’
It’s now eight years since Kestra made her world championship debut in Budapest. Six world championships and the Paris Olympics have followed. She also trains in Thailand under the World Aquatics Scholarship. As such, she is well known for making the most of her travels whenever she can. It’s common to see her wandering around Pacific team camps and host cities along with her camera creating more memories outside the pool.
‘It’s been really fun travelling. Really fun seeing all my friends from around the world, and I’ve been trying to capture the moments here and there. After my last race I’ll be able to take more photos.’ Said Kestra, still smiling.
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Written by The Reporters’ Academy Photos by Andrea Schuster