Another successful Faroese championships

Faroese swimmers broke 13 national records and 22 junior records at the short course championships this weekend, compared to 7 national records and 21 junior records last year, and 7 national records and 13 junior records in 2009. National star Pál Joensen won 13 gold medals and 3 silver medals in total, including the best swim of the meet, 7:51.22 and 833 FINA points in the 800 meter freestyle.

Despite of having a record list dating back to at least 1980, and having been through the hectic record-burning days of the supersuits, Faroese swimming is still developing with non-diminished speed, seeing 42 national records and 127 junior records being broken in 2010, and another 25 national records and 50 junior records in 2011.

The record breakers are a new batch of talented swimmers, best described by all individual records at the 2011 championships being set by junior swimmers and younger:

National records

• Magnus Jákupsson (1994) – 200 backstroke M in 2:01.08
• Eva Trygvadóttir (1996) – 50 breaststroke W in 34.19
• Magnus Jákupsson (1994) – 100 butterfly M in 54.60
• Magnus Jákupsson (1994) – 50 backstroke M in 25.74
• Guðrun Mortensen (1997) – 50 freestyle W in 26.40
• Magnus Jákupsson (1994) – 100 backstroke M in 55.34

Additional junior records

• Turið S. Christiansen (1996) – 200 IM W in 2:25.61
• Cecilia W. Eysturdal (1996) – 800 freestyle W in 9:09.47
• Turið S. Christiansen (1996) – 200 IM W in 2:24.52
• Magnus Jákupsson (1994) – 50 backstroke M prelims in 26.11
• Cecilia W. Eysturdal (1996) – 40 freestyle W in 4:22.88
• Birita Debes (1995) – 200 backstroke W in 2:20.20
• Turið S. Christiansen (1996) – 400 IM W in 5:07.37
• Magnus Jákupsson (1994) – 100 freestyle M in 51.13
• Poula Ø. Mohr (1995) – 100 IM W in 1:07.26
• Cecilia W. Eysturdal (1996) – 200 freestyle W in 2:06.77

4 girls from Ægir (Klaksvík) broke the junior records in all 3 relays swum at the championships, and 4 boys from HS (Tórshavn) similarly the junior records in 2 out of 3 relays. These same teams contributed heavily to the 6 senior records set in the evening finals, in one case swum by the same 4 girls, and in the rest of the cases strengthened by 1-2 seniors.

All results can be seen here on livetiming.se.

The event was broadcast directly on national TV, as it has been since the late eighties. Everyone involved did what they could to make the event as spectacular as possible, which may explain how all those records were set, even though most of the swimmers involved were in heavy training because of upcoming summer challenges.

Recorded live streams from the evening finals can be seen here:

• Day 1: http://www.kringvarp.fo/netvarp.aspx#media=5601;tab=1;sektion=1
• Day 2: http://www.kringvarp.fo/netvarp.aspx#media=5600;tab=1;sektion=1
• Day 3: http://www.kringvarp.fo/netvarp.aspx#media=5599;tab=1;sektion=1

Faroese swimming is at the moment totally homegrown, except for the German head coach in Tórshavn and a yearly visit by Estonian technique genius Rein Haljand. All championships participants live and train in the Faroe Islands, mostly because the majority is so young.