Kiwi born Samoan swimmer Orinoco Faamausili-Banse-Prince won gold in the 50m freestyle at the New Zealand national swimming champs in Waitakere on Sunday, equalling the NZ Open Record by Mark Herring.
His time of 22.51 seconds which was 16/100ths of a second outside the FINA qualifying standard for the Beijing Olympics.
“Faamausili-Banse wrote himself into the record books and signalled his rise at the top of the sport when he held out sprint stars Mark Herring and Cameron Gibson to win the 50m freestyle,” a Swimming NZ release reported.
“I wanted to come and get a PB at the very least. I am really pleased with that. After the heat I had to go away and think about things and how to go faster. That was a really good swim,” Faamausili-Banse added.
But the 17 year-old Mt Albert student still has one foot on the plane after being part of the NZ relay team which swam inside the FINA mark of 3.18, recording a new NZ record of 3.17. Swimming NZ has already nominated the relay team’s participation for Beijing but this is subject to Orinoco’s team-mate Willy Benson making the individual mark required. Each swimmer needs to have at least a FINA B time for their individual 100m. Unfortunately, Benson hasn’t got is 2/100ths of a second off. But selectors are confident he can do this and he gets his chance at the upcoming Oceania Champs from 5-8 June.
Orinoco’s rapid rise to NZ swimming’s elite has come quicker than expected. He was seen as a future prospect for the 2012 Olympics, but his progress has seen him more than match his older peers. He came third in the 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly qualifying him for the World Youth Champs in Mexico later this year.
• Look out for SPASIFIK Sport & Leisure magazine’s special Beijing Olympics preview featuring rising young swimming star Orinoco Faamausili-Banse-Prince in Issue 26 May June. The preview will also be available on SPASIFIKmag.com for VIP members, so SUBSCRIBE NOW!
