The Papua New Guinea Masters Swim team made history when they competed for the first time at the 17th FINA World Masters Swimming Championships held in Budapest, Hungary this month.
PNG’s swimmers- Ryan Pini and Ashley Seeto contested in five and four events respectively.
In his two main events, Seeto, who competed in the 30-34 years category, placed 6th in the 50m Breaststroke with a Personal Best time and 7th in the 100m Breaststroke, only 0.02 off from his Personal Best time.
Pini showed what a true champion he is. From his five events, Pini won Gold in the 50m Backstroke and 100m Backstroke, Silver in the 50m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle and 5th place in the 100m Butterfly.
In his two Gold medal performances, he also broke the Championship Record and World Record in both events for his respective age group 35-39 years.
Both Pini and Seeto’s performances during the seven day event put PNG in the spotlight making family, friends and the country proud of their performances.
Asked of his time spent in Budapest competing at the World Masters Championships, Pini responded saying:
“I had an amazing time competing at the World Masters, it is so great to see so many people there to compete from all ages for some competitive fun.
“It wasn’t all about results but also to share the passion for swimming and connect with likeminded people.”
What has been labelled as the biggest and best FINA World Masters Swimming Championships held, the event attracted 6524 swimmers from 25 years up to 99 years old.
The next FINA World Masters Swimming Championships will be held in two years’ time in Gwangju, South Korea.
PNG Masters would like to invite any interested companies to sponsor the PNG Masters Swimming Inc. by contacting Vice President, Ryan Pini on vicepresident@pngmasters.org.