A total of 25 new National records and personal best times were set during the three day TNT PNG swimming championship held at Ela Murray International primary school in Port Moresby at the weekend.
There were many enjoyable moments as 252 personal best times were set as swimmers raced the clock to seize the opportunity to stand on the medal dais with pride for their clubs.
The event also had 15 swimmers gaining places on the 2013 and 2014 National Kundu aquatic excellence squad.
The Gold target new additions include Savannah Tkatchenko and Ashley Seeto while in the Silver target Jocelyn Flynn, Peter Pokawin and Nathan Nades were named and in the Gold Intermediate excellence squad the new addition were Ebony Tkatchenko with two promotions into this squad Angus Dubar and Ramia Taki.
In the Silver intermediate squad new addition named was Emmanuel Nuna with Luke Vava stepping up from the junior excellence squad
New additions to the Silver Junior Excellence Squad are Olivia Buena, Mia Ketterer, Rhyley Burke, Thomas Chen, Giaro Puana, Cameron Vele and Nolan Vava.
Fourteen-year-old Savannah Tkatchenko rewrote the PNG short course records book in the 14 year age category in eight events.
They were: 50m breaststroke event swimming 34.31 seconds taking Xenia Peni’s record of 37.28 seconds set in 1997; 200m backstroke event swimming 2:3138 taking Namiko Kobayashi’s record of 2:34.82 set in 1998.
In the 100 meter individual medley event, Savannah swam 1:09.25 taking Judith Merauri’s record of 1:11.01set in 2007; 50m backstroke Savannah swam a finish time of 32.39.
She also smashed the 100m breaststroke swimming by clocking 1:15.66 and also the 50m freestyle where she swam a time of 28.55.
Other age groups records were set by 13-year-old James Runnegar in the 100m individual medley clocking 1:11.73 taking Jenixon Lim’s record of 1:12.30 set in 2008.
Stanford Kawale set a senior record in the same event clocking a finish time of 1:02.55, previous record was held by Ryan Pini 1:02.58 set in 2006.
Tegan McCarthy swam a 17-year-old age record in the 50m backstroke stopping the clock with a time of 32.73 seconds
In the 200m breaststroke event 15- year-old Ryan Maskelyne broke his age and the open record, swimming a time of 2:34.15.
Seventeen-year-old Barbara Vali set a new record in the 200m individual medley with a finish time of 2:40.49 taking Judith Meauri’s record of 2:41.91 set in 2009.
Tegan McCarthy also set a new record time of 1:15.59 in the 100m breaststroke event and Leonard Kalate swam into the record books in the 13-year age group clocking a time of 1:17.37 taking his own record set in 2013 of 1:17.91
In the 50m freestyle event Barbara Vali swam a finish time of 28.68.
In the masters category, Ashley Seeto set a new record in the 25-29 year age category clocking a time of 31.24 seconds in the 50m breaststroke event.
In the 30-34 age category, Ryan Pini swam 28.12 in the 50m backstroke event, taking Adrian Morey’s previous record of 33.97 set in 1996 .
He set a new master’s record in the 50m freestyle event clocking 24.75.
Kristy Baker in the 50m freestyle event, clocked a new time of 33.38 in the 35-39 age category taking Caroline Terz’s record of 34.56 set in 2008.
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