Second personal best, just as predicted by Furgeson

“I think I’ll get a personal best. My last race in Papua New Guinea wasn’t very good but I think I can redeem myself”.

Those are the words of a self-assured individual less than twenty-four hours prior to her Women’s 100m Freestyle race.

The race Colleen Furgeson was referring to was during the recent Pacific Games in Port Moresby, in which she recorded a time of 1 minute 06.19 seconds, which she deemed unsatisfactory. The Kwajalein born athlete relished another chance in the pool only a few weeks after her last attempt.

Her final race in the 16th FINA World Championships, in Kazan, gave her this opportunity.

Her start produced a reaction time perfectly matched with that of her 50m Backstroke, at 0.77 seconds, which ended in a personal best. This appeared to be a trend for the swimmer that trains in Hawaii. Her first 50m produced a time of 30.60 seconds, but the effect of racing a day before caught up. “I was already tired after the 50m”, she explained.

The remainder of the race saw her set a time of 1 minute 05.18 seconds and so beating her personal best, just as she predicted. 1.01 seconds quicker than her Pacific Games time.

“It was good, but I think I could’ve done a little better though”, the 16 year old swimmer from the Marshall Islands reflected.

“When I went in I think I came up a little too early and I think my foot turn could’ve been a little bit tighter...then I definitely could’ve been quicker when I saw the 25m”.

Now that her schedule is complete, she has plans to selflessly go and encourage her team mates, in the true spirit of the Championships.

“I’m going to watch my team and cheer them on because I know they’ll do great”.

Furgeson’s final reflection on the Championships was nothing but positive.

“I really like Russia itself. I like being close to my teammates because they don’t train with me so it’s cool being with them”.