Monique Bacolod, Johansen Benedi Aguilar excel in 17 yrs and above category – 2011 Arafura Games
Monique Bacolod and Johansen Benedi Aguilar demonstrated their impressive swimming skills to conquer the titles of their events on the third day of the 2011 Arafura Games.
The session concluded after the final rounds of the 50m breast-stroke and the 100m back-stroke for the Boys and Girls of the 17 years and above age category.
The session started with the Girl’s 100m back-stroke, where only two swimmers participated in the final race. Monique Bacolod of Philippines-AK proved her eligibility for the gold crown by improving her time by almost one second. Bacolod, who qualified as the fastest swimmer into the final, touched the wall first in 1:12.40 minutes. Her team-member, Roanne Florence YU displayed a sluggish swim and failed to overwhelm Bacolod’s effort, producing a time of 1:17.15, to secure the silver medal.
The next event was the Boy’s 100m back-stroke, where Johansen Benedi Aguilar met the expectations of his fans by maintaining the top spot. Aguilar earned the gold medal for the 100m event, clocking a time of 1:00.50 minutes. His wonderful timing placed him almost three seconds ahead of his following swimmer, Banjo Borja, who touched the wall for silver medal in a time of 1:03.06 minutes. They were followed by NT’s Michael Barker, who finished his swim in the third place, clocking 1:05.46 minutes for the bronze medal.
After few moments, the crowd enjoyed the amazing effort of New Caledonia’s Sarah Rouam-Sim, smashing the title of the Girl’s 50m breast-stroke. Rouam-Sim occupied the gold medal for the 50m event by touching the wall in a time of 36.03 seconds. She was only 0.60 seconds faster from her strongest competitor, Monique Bacolod, who reached the podium for the silver medal with a timing of 36.63 seconds. Ester Anokio of Indonesia followed them on the podium for the bronze medal, producing a time of 37.90 seconds. Anokio was comfortable ahead of her closest competitor, Roanne Florence Yu, who appeared fourth on the wall in 40.76 seconds.
Moments later, Banjo Borja of Philippines-AK pocketed his second medal of the evening in the Boy’s 50m breast-stroke. Borja, who already won a silver medal in the 100m back-stroke, claimed the gold medal for the 50m event by posting a time of 31.00 seconds. Borja was followed by Papua New Guinea’s Ian Nakmai and Philippines-AK’s Dhil Anderson Lee, who settled on the podium for the silver and bronze medals with a timing of 31.38 and 31.49 seconds, respectively.
The arena witnessed astounding swims of the age group swimmers, trying to escape each other for the titles of their respective events. In addition, these swimmers will compete with each other once again on the last day of championship, where the winners will be awarded for their gruelling efforts.
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