GWANGJU, 23 JULY 2019 (THE REPORTERS ACADEMY) – A first World Championships for any swimmer can be exciting, daunting, exhilarating and nerve-racking all within a short period of time. If you’re 18 years of age and experiencing all this for the first time, then you can be forgiven for having a wave of emotions.
Netani Ross from Fiji showed none of those as he took his place on the blocks for the Men’s 100m Breaststroke Heats on day 2 of the 18th FINA World Swimming Championships. He’s no stranger to a big championship, having competed in the recent Pacific Games. Indeed, he picked up the silver medal in the 50m backstroke event. At those Games, he finished just outside the medals in 4th place in the 100m Backstroke in a time of 59.68 seconds.
In Gwangju, he completed the first 50m in 29.18 seconds before really coming into his own and moved through the field with an impressive final split time of 31.12 seconds to finish in a time of 1 minute 0.3 seconds. Only sixty-two hundredths of a second slower than in Samoa. There was a nod to his feelings in the Mixed Zone afterward as he commented;
“ So, this is my first Worlds, and I want to get as much experience as I can get, and take in the atmosphere, and improve by looking at the top swimmers also. I was kind of nervous, but I loved it as this is a big deal for me, so I just soaked it up and was like hey I’m here and ready to do my best”
Ross holds a Personal Best in this event of around the 57 second mark and today admitted that he “didn’t feel that good. I guess it’s from the shock from coming from the Games to here. I’ve had a good week with the team leading up to this, so I have one more race so will need to give it my best” Once again showing maturity to soak up an experience in order to benefit his performances in the pool.
His next appearance in the 100m Freestyle on Wednesday will only add positively to his experience at major events.
Meanwhile, at The FINA 18th World Swimming Championship, concluded Moana Wind’s participation in this year’s event, having completed her 2 swims. Moana from Fiji, is a swimmer who demands the very best from herself every time, never looking for an excuse, despite two races in as many days.
“I think I prefer to have the races close together because I’m used to that. I’m used to swimming one day after the other. If it would have been a few days apart I would have been overthinking it.”
Today saw her compete in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke in a race consisting of 4 Pacific island swimmers, nearly half the Heat. When queried about how it feels to race against friends competitively her answer gave an insight into her warm personality
“You train really hard and you give 100% and your friends and competitors just give it that extra 1% and you feel bad; but actually because they have beaten you are so happy for them.” Tilali (Scanlan, American Samoa) and I are rivals in the breaststroke and I just edge her in most of our races and she finally beat me today.”
Wind clocked in 1 minute 16:56 seconds, half a second behind Tilali Scanlan, and she was all in all pleased but like any athlete, is always looking to improve
“No way near my Personal Best (PB), but I’m just happy I’m finished, that was my last event. It’s still a good swim but no way near my PB which is a bit disappointing.”
Finally, Moana was compelled to mention a special moment she shared before getting up on the blocks
“I saw Ryan Pini and I’m such a huge fan, he was there in the Marshalls area and he gave me a wave and that is the highlight of my day.”
A swimming hero for anyone related to Pacific islands swimming, 4 times Olympian of Papua New Guinea, Ryan Pini’s legacy continues to motivate the next generation of swimmers to aspire to his achievements
As for Moana Wind, there is no time to kick her feet up for too long as she turns her attention now to the coming weeks.
“I’m going to relax because it’s been really hectic the last few weeks coming through competition from the Pacific Games to this. So just recovery, but not too much because I go back to Fiji for another competition so it’s non stop.”
