It was a full day in the pool for the Northern Mariana Islands on day four of the World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Singapore, as this young team made a strong impression on the global stage. Piper Raho, Maria Corazon Ayson Batallones, Kouki Watanabe and Michael Miller represent NMI with pride. Led by Piper Raho, the youngest member of Team NMI, the squad set two national records on a great day of international competition.
Piper opened the day with her first individual event of the competition, the Women’s 50m Backstroke, sharing a heat with three fellow Pacific islanders from Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Fiji.
Calm and composed before the start, Piper jumped into the cool water ready to race. “I feel pretty calm, pretty focused,” she shared. “What I like about backstroke is that when you step into the water, it calms you, you get a feel for it before the race.”
That composure turned into power in the water. Piper clocked a time of 31.37, smashing her previous best of 34.69 achieved at the XIII OSA Championships in Australia last year. Her swim set a new national record, a 15-16 age group record, marking a huge milestone in her international career.
“For me, it went by pretty fast. I was kind of nervous before the race, but I think that helped, I was more focused. I had a lot of adrenaline,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to drop that much time, so it feels amazing. It feels like all the hard work has paid off.”
After competing at the Pacific Mini Games in Palau just last month, Piper said the team went straight back into hard training, “I feel like going back into training right away really made a difference because I already feel faster” and that effort showed. In addition to her hard work she credited her coach’s race advice: “Keep your stroke rate fast, kick fast, and hold it.”
Reflecting on what she’s learned from competing at this level, 15-year-old Piper showed both maturity and insight beyond her years, sharing that building confidence is key. “I doubt myself a lot,” she admitted. She realises now, “your mind can really improve your race. If I work on my confidence, I know I can get faster.”
Later in the day, Piper returned to the pool alongside Maria Corazon Ayson Batallones (17), Kouki Watanabe (17) and Michael Miller (16) for the Mixed 4 x 100m Medley Relay. The team delivered a fast and gutsy race, clocking 4:31.93. A new national record, beating their time from the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka.
Piper led off the backstroke leg with a strong reaction time of 0.64. “I think I went out pretty fast,” she said. “At the end, I used all my energy and really felt it.”
Maria followed with a solid breaststroke leg. “I was just thinking about making the record,” she said. “I wanted to do well for my team and I did my best.”
Kouki took on the Butterfly leg and despite the fact Fly isn’t his favourite stroke he was still satisfied with this race. He takes this as all good experience and will use it for future training. “I want to get better at overall swimming, get better at the four strokes, not just one stroke”.
Anchoring the team was Michael, the youngest of the four. “It’s good, I feel like I’m taking over now,” he laughed. “This was kind of a test run for the next freestyle relay. I’ve got stuff to work on, but now I know what I can improve.”
Maria added that swimming as a team makes the pressure feel different: “It’s definitely less nerve-wracking, but I still feel nervous because I know our coaches expect a lot from us. I wouldn’t want to disappoint.”
Their tight-knit bond was clear; “we warm up the same, do the same things before the race, and cheer each other on,” Piper said.
With strong swims, new records, and growing confidence, the young Northern Mariana Islands team continues to show just how bright the future is for Pacific swimmers on the world stage.
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Written by The Reporters’ Academy