Two days, two personal bests, two National Records. That’s the wonderful individual swimming tally for Kestra Kihleng at the World Aquatic Championships. The Federated States of Micronesia swimmer has taken the record book apart, all in under 48 hours.
Following up on her success in the Women’s 100m Freestyle, she stormed her way to a time of 30.51 seconds. Smashing her own previous National Record of 30.80.
It was a great start, as she flew from the blocks and held on to take 3rd place in her Heat.
‘PB and a National Record? ‘She enquired, as she arrived for her interview fresh from the pool…..when we confirmed it, a smile spread across her face.
‘Yeah! I’m happy with it. I feel like there was a lot to work on though for that 50. I think I breathed too much, but overall, I’m really happy with the race.’
The best swimmers never spend much time standing still after a good performance. There’s always the next thing to work on. Sure enough, Kestra is already analysing her next steps.
‘I’m already looking back at the races and seeing what I need to work on next and just making sure I fix those finer details and look forward to the next one. At the moment, I’m having fun with it all. The 100 freestyle has been really good. I’ve been working a lot on that, especially with Russell Mark.’
Russell Mark is a renowned analyst as part of the World Aquatics Development Programme.
‘I train at Thanyapura in Thailand, with my coach Alex. Him and Russell Mark have been helping me with getting my stroke technique down. And yeah, just working on the technique and building my aerobic base.’
Once again, this access to a variety of top level support and resources, is what helps to produce days such as today for Kestra.
‘In FSM we have a 25 metre pool. The facilities open to me at Thanyapura adds to my swimming environment, and in turn I feel I’m consistently improving. I’ve been there for two years and the facilities are amazing and I’m beginning to see clear results.’
Kestra’s highlights in the pool are clear to see this week. What about outside the pool?
‘I feel for me, these competitions are a chance for me to meet and reunite with all my friends from abroad, especially the ones that used to train with me in Thailand and also the Oceania team. It’s really good to meet everyone and catch up.’
–Ends–
Written by The Reporters’ Academy. Photos by Andrea Schuster