The season has been rapid-fire in terms of back-to-back World Championships Trials around the world. Some of the lesser high-profile powerhouse national records are worth noting, even though they didn’t steal the spotlight with individual articles.
With the conclusion of the month of April, let’s take stock of several national records that went down under the radar.
Tsui Yik Ki (HKG) – Men’s 50m breaststroke
- Hong Kong’s Tsui Yik Ki established a new national record while competing in the heats of the men’s 50m breaststroke at the Malaysia Open Championships. On April 26th, 27-year-old Tsui clocked a time of 27.76 to slice .23 off his own previous national standard of 27.99 put up at last November’s Hong Kong Age Group Championships. His new benchmark was less than half a second off the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard of 27.33 needed for Singapore.
Erika Pasakinskaite (LTU) – Women’s 100m butterfly
- The Lithuanian national record in the women’s 100m butterfly bit the dust, courtesy of Erika Pasakinskaite. The UCONN commit turned in a time of 1:00.28, shaving .26 off the former benchmark Beatrica Kanapienyte put on the books in 2016. Pasakinskaite performed the feat at the Southeast London Summer Championships. Entering this competition, her previous PB stood at the 1:00.95 notched just last month at the Aquatics GB Championships.
Denis Petrashov (KRZ) – Men’s 100m breaststroke
- University of Louisville’s Denis Petrashov fired off a new Kyrgyzstani national record en route to winning the men’s 100m breaststroke at the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale. The 25-year-old registered 59.23 as the gold medalist, improving upon the 59.46 record he swam in December 2023. Petrashov is a 3-time Olympian for Kyrgyzstan, most recently finishing 14th overall in the men’s 200m breaststroke (2:10.19) at the 2024 Games.
David ‘Tolu’ Young (FIJ) – Men’s 100m freestyle
- Racing at the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, David ‘Tolu’ Young pumped out a time of 49.98 to win the 100m freestyle C-Final. The Arizona State Sun Devil split 23.24/26.74 to become the first man ever from Fiji to dip under the 50-second barrier in the event. His result wiped out the former national record of 51.34 Carl Probert established 25 years ago. Young already owns the Fijian record in the 50m free, courtesy of the 22.71 turned in at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Kito Campbell (JAM) – Men’s 100m breaststroke
- Jamaica’s Kito Campbell also raced at the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, taking on the men’s 100m breaststroke. He, too, won the C-Final, putting up a mark of 1:02.33 for a new national record. The 21-year-old split 29.20/33.13 for the victory. The University of Denver athlete blew his former lifetime best and Jamaican standard of 1:04.62 to bits. That previous PB was put on the books at the 2022 Puerto Rican International Open.
Mercedes Toledo (VEN) – Women’s 50m breaststroke
- 35-year-old Mercedes Toledo scored a new Venezuelan national record of 31.71 in the heats of the women’s 50m breaststroke at last month’s Brazilian Swimming Championships. That sliced .13 off her own previous VEN mark of 31.84 established 5 years ago. Toledo’s new PB is a testament to the possibility that the addition of the stroke 50s events at the 2028 Olympic Games can potentially extend the careers of athletes who may otherwise have considered retirement.
Good work, Retta.