The road to the Olympics can be difficult, lonely, and full of sacrifice, but it can also be rewarding and victorious, as four of FSM Swimming’s top swimmers experienced in Fukuoka, Japan at the World Aquatics Championships. Team FSM saw five new FSM National Records in Fukuoka, an remarkable accomplishment for this team.
The World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, held from July 14 to 30, included six different aquatics sports, culminating in swimming the final eight days of the competition. The swimming portion of the Championships was held in a 50-meter swimming pool and serves as an Olympic qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
FSM Swimming sent four athletes to this prestigious event. FSM Olympian Tasi Limtiaco competed in the Men’s 50 Meter and 100 Meter Breaststroke events. Limtiaco has been training in Coronado, California in preparation. His hard work in training paid off with an astounding new FSM National Record in both of these events. FSM swimmer Kestra Kihleng has been training in Phuket, Thailand with a World Aquatics training scholarship since April 2023. Kihleng also set two new FSM National Records with her individual events in the Women’s 50 Meter Freestyle and the Women’s 50 Meter Breaststroke. Kyler Kihleng, who has been training in Pohnpei, FSM, competed in the Men’s 100 Meter and 200 Meter Freestyle events, accomplishing two personal best times. FSM Olympian Taeyanna Adams, currently training in Chapel Hill, NC, competed in the Women’s 50 Meter Butterfly and 100 Meter Breaststroke, finishing with a personal best time in the 50 Meter Butterfly. All four swimmers came together for two relay events - the Mixed 4x100 Medley Relay and the Mixed 4x100 Freestyle Relay. Relay events are always exciting to watch, and these were no exception. Team FSM walked away with a new FSM National Record in the Mixed 4x100 Freestyle Relay.
These FSM swimmers have demonstrated amazing talent in the pool, steadily improving their times with each competition and proving to be a powerhouse among the Pacific federations.
What is up next for FSM Swimming? In the first week of September, FSM Swimming will send three junior swimmers to the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in Netanya, Israel. Katerson Moya, age 16, Katrianne Kihleng, age 16, and Elijah Eperiam, also age 16, will compete in the six-day competition among the world’s top junior-aged swimmers (age 14-18). In November, FSM will also send athletes to the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands.
Videos of all swims from the World Aquatics Championships, as well as full results, can be found on the FSM Swimming Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FSMSwimming.