Deiparine erases national 50-meter breast

PH swimmer James Christian Deiparine. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

James Christian Deiparine established a new national record in the men’s 50-meter breaststroke that moved him closer to the gold-medal standard of the Southeast Asian Games.

The 26-year-old SEA Games medalist touched the wall in under 28 seconds at the 18th Fina World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, resetting the record of 28.13 seconds he also established in the 2017 Fina worlds in Hungary.

Deiparine’s 27.91-second clocking wiped out that previous national mark, allowing the Filipino-American to finish ninth overall among Asian swimmers and 33rd among 79 elite tankers around the globe.

He placed second in his heat topped by Martin Allikvee of Estonia (27.79), while Yannick Kaser of Switzerland checked in third (27.99).

“[His] efforts are obviously paying off based on his performance,” swimming chief Lani Velasco said.

Deiparine, who also holds the national record in the 100-meter breast, was the fastest Southeast Asian in the event at the ongoing world championships with Nathaniel Gagarin of Indonesia clocking 28.97 seconds.

“Watching him swim against other Southeast Asian swimmers, I am confident that Jimmy will deliver the gold he missed in [the] 2017 [Malaysia SEA Games],” Velasco said.

Filipino-American swimmer Remedy Alexis Rule likewise erased the national record in the women’s 100-meter butterfly at the start of the world championships on Monday.

The two-time All-American from the University of Texas timed 1:00.42 to wipe out the standard set by Jasmine Alkhaldi (1:01.00) in the 2015 Singapore SEA Games.