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Disclaimer: Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The Swim of the Week is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.
Fijian breaststroker Samuel Yalimaiwai had a standout performance at last week’s Oceanian Swimming Championships, setting a trio of personal best times and claiming a gold medal victory in the men’s 50 breaststroke while competing on home soil in Suva.
The 23-year-old blasted his way to a time of 28.22 in the 50 breast prelims, lowering his own Fijian National Record of 28.54, set at the 2025 World Championships last summer in Singapore.
The swim also broke an 18-year-old Oceanian Championship Record, as Yalimaiwai took down New Zealand’s Glenn Snyders‘ mark of 28.31 set at the 2008 Championships in Christchurch.
Despite setting a pair of records, Yalimaiwai was still looking for more, hoping to break the 28-second barrier in the final.
“I was trying to get a 27 in the heats, didn’t get it, I was close, but I’m glad that I got the record, so I can’t complain,” Yalimaiwai told local outlet FBC News after the prelims.
“It feels amazing. I’ve been aiming for this all year because this is my main event, and I’m glad I got the record in the heats.”
Although he didn’t quite re-lower his new best time in the final, clocking 28.26, Yalimaiwai still earned the Oceanian title and will likely be a fixture on Fiji’s team at the Commonwealth Games later this summer.
“I’m not really sure yet because selection is based on this competition, so I’m just focusing on this meet, doing my best and hopefully getting selected,” Yalimaiwai told FBC News regarding the Commonwealth Games.
Yalimaiwai also set a personal best time of 1:04.29 in the 100 breast, placing 4th, while he led off the Fijian men’s 4×100 free relay in a lifetime best of 56.97 in the 100 free.
These performances came after he won the Fijian national title in the 50 breast in early April, having produced a pair of 28.9 swims there.
At last summer’s World Championships, Yalimaiwai placed 52nd in the 50 breast and 62nd in the 100 breast (1:06.37) as one of only four swimmers on the Fijian roster. He also represented Fiji at the 2018 Junior Pan Pacs in Suva.
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