Asia Kent wins bronze and sets national record at Island Games

It’s a bronze medal for Asia Kent in the Island Games Orkney 200m breaststroke in a time of 2:32.92.

This followed a successful morning for Asia in the pool on Tuesday, where she made it through her heats in both the 200m breaststroke and the 200 individual medley.

In the breaststroke heat she came in 4th in a time of 2:34.31 and in the individual medley she came in 6th in a time of 2:25.09. She took gold for Gibraltar in the 200m breaststroke final in Guernsey two years ago in a time of 2:34.30.

A mere 50mins after winning bronze medal she was back in the pool for her 200m individual medley final, where she placed 5th in a time of 2:24.56, faster than she swam in the morning and breaking her own national record.

Speaking to the Chronicle afterwards she said: “I was surprised because with my personal best I was placed 6th and I knew that I wouldn’t reach that time as I have had a tough year as I just finished my A-levels.”

“I have not been training intensely so I did not think I would have enough fitness to reach close to my time.”

“So when I swam the heat and got that time I thought that was decent for a morning swim.”

“And then, to do better in the evening was more than I expected.”

She shared the podium with two women she knows well having trained with one for the past two years and they are “best friends”.

On the medal, team manager Gavin Santos said: “It’s great she managed to drop in time from this morning’s heats in both the breaststroke and individual medley.”

“A very hard-fought medal with fourth place right over her shoulder and a tough field.”

Asia called the individual medley event a “fun event” as it is not her main one.

‘I wasn’t expecting to get into the finals but as I did I wanted to get the national record, and I did.”

Other swimmers

Adam Burns took on the 100m butterfly and came in 14th in a time of 1:04.22.

Katie Maddocks smashed her personal best by 7 seconds when she came first in her heats for the 100m backstroke in a time of 1:11.78. However, overall she was placed 16th and did not qualify for the semi-finals.

Kayden Galliano came in 21st in the 200m freestyle in a time of 2:14.07. And, Christian Chipolina Chang came in 17th in the 200m freestyle in a time of 2:06.96.

Team manager Gavin Santos spoke to the Chronicle after the morning’s event and said that overall it has been “so far, so good”.

However, he acknowledged that the challenges facing swimmers, particularly in tough events like the 1500m [that took place on Monday] and 200m.

“I would say that a couple of guys will be slightly disappointed with their performances, but it is a big occasion, and it's hot and steamy in there. It's not comfortable,” he said.

“Some of the events that they swam are extremely tough events as well. So the 1500m yesterday was tough for both Kayden and Christian. The 200m today was going to be tough for them as well.”

“It's a difficult event to get your pace right for. If you don't start on the right foot, it's difficult to pick up the pace later on in that race. “

This is because it is easier to lower for a swimmer to lower their pace than to pick it up.

In other words, it’s easier for a swimmer to over-exert at the start of a race and slow the pace after judging how the race is going. To lift the pace is tougher because “you have to tell your body to shut up and push through the pain.”

“That's little harder to do, it comes with time and experience for sure,” he said.

He said he was very proud of all the team and each swimmer will have a different experience of the games so far.

“Certainly, some will have wanted to swim a little faster, given the occasion, and given that they tapered and they're ready for this event. But look, it's a big occasion. The nerves are involved,” he said.

“It's not easy to prepare these young people for a big, very important event, probably the highest level some of them will ever compete.”

“It's a big occasion. It's a big deal. It's a lot for them to adapt to at such a young age, and sometimes it just gets the best of you.”

Mr Santos called Katie’s performance the stand up one so far.

“She came in with an 1:19 expectation, and she swam at 1:11 this morning, which is absolutely fantastic, not just that, the way she swam, I thought, was very mature,” he said.

“It was a very good start. Her turns went well, all three of them were nailed, and the finish was fantastic.”

“And in between, her swimming was very aggressive, very high in the water, very lovely technique.”

“So, no complaints from me at all.”

On Asia’s performance he said that the breaststroke is one of her strongest events.

However, the morning swim was not at her maximum performance and she was holding back a little bit for the afternoon's final, “which is where it matters”.

“That said, speaking to her earlier in the week, she's better prepared for the 100m breaststroke, which is a currently her best placing event,” he said.

On the 200m individual medley, he explained it is a challenging event in which swimmers use every single muscle in their bodies, which can leave them exhausted for the rest of the day.

“It's a big effort. It's adding to a tally of events, but just testament to how strong and how fit she is, she can do those two big, very hard efforts in a day twice,” he said.