Meauri produces impressive performance at Fina meet

PAPUA New Guinea swimmer Judith Meauri has put on an impressive display at the Fina World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, despite a 12-day turnaround from the Pacific Games.
“The race was really good, I felt really good in the water, we had a competition before this at The Pacific Games and I swam a better time than that, so I’m pretty happy,” she said.
Meauri competed in the women’s 200m freestyle at the Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa.
Her Samoa time of two minutes, 31.78 seconds was smashed by more than six seconds (two minutes, 25:42 seconds) in Gwangju. The 27 year old competitor was right on form.
It was a really good performance, especially in front of a large, cheering crowd on the world stage. Her split times were 34.12 seconds, 37.05 seconds, 38.09 seconds and 36.16 seconds.
The performance only added to her overall positive experience at the championships.
“This is the first World Championships I’ve been to that’s had an athletes’ village,” Meauri said.
“It’s nice to have athletes from other countries living and dining together in the same compound whereas at other Games I’ve been to, we all live in hotels and so you don’t get to see each other. It’s nice interacting with other countries.”
In fact, Meauri had fellow Pacific Islander Kurotori Mineri Gomez, of Guam, in her heat.
“It’s like having your buddy next to you even though you’re all from different countries,” she said.
“When we come to big competitions, we get together like a family, it’s really good.
“Having someone in the same heat, knowing that your fellow islander is swimming next to you has been a good experience.”
Meauri’s relentless schedule doesn’t let up now as her focus now turns to a further two races before her World Championships end.
“It’s the relay and 50m freestyle on Saturday,” she said.
“I’m really looking forward to it, it’s going to be a fast one.” – reportersacademy