Samiul Islam Rafi, a talented swimmer, continued his impressive performance at the Max Group 34th National Swimming, Diving and Water Polo Championships by breaking four more national records on the second day of the event held at the National Swimming Complex in Mirpur. Rafi, who had already set a new record in the 50m backstroke on the first day, achieved new national records in the 200m individual medley, 50m butterfly, 100m freestyle, and 200m backstroke disciplines.
In addition to Rafi’s outstanding achievements, Romana Akter and Juthi Akter also made history by setting new records. Romana established new records in the women’s 200m individual medley and 200m breaststroke, while Juthi set a new mark in the 200m backstroke. The first two days of the championships witnessed a total of 12 new records being set.
Rafi surpassed his own records in the 200m individual medley and 200m backstroke, posting times of 2:08.92 and 2:10.46 seconds respectively, improving on his previous bests of 2:09.99 and 2:10.87 seconds. He also broke Mahmudul Islam’s three-year-old record in the 50m butterfly, clocking 25.15 seconds, and eclipsed a 12-year-old mark set by Mahfizur Rahman in the 100m freestyle, finishing in 52.42 seconds compared to the previous best of 52.88 seconds.
Romana started by breaking Junayna Akter’s 2019 record in the 200m individual medley, touching the wall at 2:26.02 seconds, a significant improvement over Junayna’s 2:39.01 seconds. She then bettered her own record in the 200m breaststroke, timing 2:49.75 seconds to surpass her previous 2:51.35 seconds.
Juthi concluded the day by improving her own record in the 200m backstroke, clocking 2:40.41 seconds, a slight improvement from her previous time of 2:40.51 seconds.
After two days of competition, Bangladesh Navy led the medal tally with 20 gold, 13 silver, and seven bronze medals, followed by Bangladesh Army with five gold, 11 silver, and 17 bronze medals. BKSP secured the third position with two gold, three silver, and three bronze medals.