Ryan Pini

Ryan John Pini MBE (born 10 December 1981 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea)[1] is a 4-time Olympic swimmer from Papua New Guinea. He swam for PNG at the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics;[2] also serving as the PNG flagbearer in 2008 and 2016. He is the first PNG swimmer ever to reach an Olympic final.

Ryan Pini

Personal information
Full name	Ryan John Pini
Nickname(s)	PNG's Golden Fish
Nationality	Papua New Guinea
Born	(1981-12-10) 10 December 1981 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	98 kg (216 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Butterfly
Club	Yeronga Park Swim Club (AUS)
Medal record Commonwealth Games Melbourne 2006 100m Butterfly Delhi 2010 100m Butterfly South Pacific Games Agana 1999 100m Backstroke Suva 2003 100m Freestyle Suva 2003 50m Backstroke Suva 2003 100m Backstroke Suva 2003 200m Backstroke Suva 2003 50m Butterfly Suva 2003 100m Butterfly Suva 2003 200m I.M. Apia 2007 100m Freestyle Apia 2007 200m Freestyle Apia 2007 50m Backstroke Apia 2007 100m Backstroke Apia 2007 200m Backstroke Apia 2007 50m Butterfly Apia 2007 100m Butterfly Apia 2007 200m medley Nouméa 2011 200m Freestyle Nouméa 2011 50m Backstroke Nouméa 2011 100m Backstroke Nouméa 2011 50m Butterfly Nouméa 2011 100m Butterfly Port Moresby 2015 50m Freestyle Port Moresby 2015 100m Freestyle Port Moresby 2015 50m Backstroke Port Moresby 2015 100m Backstroke Port Moresby 2015 50m Butterfly Port Moresby 2015 100m Butterfly Port Moresby 2015 Mixed 4x50m Freestyle relay Agana 1999 100m Butterfly Suva 2003 50m Freestyle Suva 2003 400m Free Relay Suva 2003 800m Free Relay Suva 2003 400m Medley Relay Apia 2007 50m Freestyle Apia 2007 400m Freestyle Nouméa 2011 100m Freestyle Nouméa 2011 50m Freestyle Port Moresby 2015 4x100m Medley Relay Port Moresby 2015 Mixed 4x50m Medley Relay Agana 1999 200m Backstroke Suva 2003 200m Freestyle Nouméa 2011 4x100m Medley Port Moresby 2015 4x100m Freestyle relay Port Moresby 2015 4x200m Freestyle relay

Pini competes for the Boroko Swim Club.

International career

2002 Commonwealth Games

At his first ever Commonwealth Games, Pini made the semifinal in all 4 events contested (50m/100m Butterfly, 50m Freestyle and 50m Backstroke)

2004 Summer Olympics

Pini competed in the 100m Butterfly at the 2004 Summer Olympics, finishing 18th.

2006 Commonwealth Games

• 100m Butterfly

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Pini became just the second individual from Papua New Guinea to win an individual gold medal at any Olympic or Commonwealth Games, when he won the Men's 100m Butterfly. In doing so, Pini also won Papua New Guinea's first ever swimming medal at an Olympic or Commonwealth Games. His winning time of 52.64 was enough to edge out Michael Klim of Australia and Moss Burmester of New Zealand.

Pini also competed in the final of the Men's 50m Butterfly, finishing fifth, and made the semifinal of the Men's 100m Freestyle.

2007 World Aquatics Championships

Pini competed in the 2007 World Aquatics Championships in Melbourne.

He reached the 100m Butterfly and 50m Butterfly semifinals.

He competed in the heats of the 100m Freestyle.

2008 Summer Olympics

Pini was the flag bearer for Papua New Guinea at the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Pini ranked first in the third heat of the Men's 100m Freestyle, but did not make a qualifying time for the semifinals. He also competed in heats for the 200m Freestyle.

Pini competed in the Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 100m Butterfly, where he was Papua New Guinea's most widely anticipated chance at attaining a first Olympic medal. He competed in the finals, and finished 8th overall, in a tough line up which included American big fish Michael Phelps, who took gold. Pini was the first Papua New Guinean ever to swim an Olympic final.[3]

2010 Commonwealth Games

• 100m Butterfly

Pini won Silver in 100m Butterfly Finals in a time of 52.50.

Pini also competed in the final of the Men's 50m Butterfly, finishing 5th in a time of 23.88.

Pini qualified for the 100m Freestyle Semifinal but had to pull out due to illness and to concentrate on the 50m Butterfly Final.

2012 Summer Olympics

Pini competed in the 100m Butterfly at the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing 26th.

2016 Summer Olympics

Pini competed in the 100 m Butterfly event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He finished in 30th place in the heats with a time of 53.24 seconds. He did not advance to the semifinals.[4]

Training

Pini trains under super coach Rick Van Der Zant and alongside ex Australian swimming representative Andrew Mewing. His other training partners include Jackson Van Der Zant, Sam James, Adam Hosking, and Josh Smith.

Early life

Pini was born and raised in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and is the third youngest of four children (2 older brothers and 1 younger sister). His parents Kevin and Sarenah Pini own a family business, Theodist, based in PNG.

Pini began swimming at the age of six and attended lessons at Boroko Amateur Swimming Club. By the age of six, he held a national record for his age group (8 and under).

Graduating from Port Moresby International High School in 1999, Pini then moved to Brisbane to further his studies and to eventually pursue his swimming career.

Shoulder injuries have hindered Pini, with his fourth shoulder operation done in January 2011.

Personal life

Pini married Brisbane born Carly Vincenzi in October 2011 at Stradbroke Island.

In his spare time, Pini enjoys wake boarding, kite surfing, diving and motor bike riding in PNG as well as snow boarding in Canada.

Honours and awards

After his victory in the 100m Butterfly at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Pini was ranked number one in the world for the event and held this ranking for 4 months.

Pini has also received the following awards:

• Member of the Order of the British Empire – 2005[5]

• Papua New Guinea SP Sportsman of the Year Award – 2003, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2015

• Papua New Guinea SP Lifetime Achievement Award – 2008

• The ONOC Male Oceania Athlete of the Year Award – 2015

• South Pacific Games Male Swimmer of the Meet – 2003 (won 7 events, 4 in Games Records) [6]

Career best times

Long course (50 metre pool)

Event	Time	Date Notes
50m Freestyle	20.87
100m Freestyle	45.54
200m Freestyle	1:39.23
50m Butterfly	21.54
100m Butterfly	48.83
50m Backstroke
100m Backstroke

Short course (25 metre pool)

Event	Time	Date Notes
50m Freestyle	19.81
100m Freestyle	43.99
200m Freestyle	1:36.84
50m Butterfly	20.91
100m Butterfly	47.12
50m Backstroke
100m Backstroke

Out of the pool

• Sponsorships: Bank South Pacific (2011 to current), Airlines PNG (2007 to 2009)

• Ambassadors: Bank South Pacific (2011 to current), Airlines PNG (2007 to 2009)

External links

• "Pini claims swimming glory", Naziah Ali, University of the South Pacific, 1 July 2003
• Radio Australia: PNG's Pini, Pacific ready for winning day eight

References

1. Pini's bio page on the official website of the 2008 Olympics; retrieved 3 July 2009.
2. Pini's entry Archived 8 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine from www.sports-reference.com; retrieved 3 July 2009.
3. "PNG swimmer makes history" Archived 26 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine, 16 August 2008
4. "Rio 2016". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
5. London Gazette, 11 June 2005. Retrieved 19 July 2015
6. SPG'03-Swimming: Swimmers of the Meet Named, from SportingPulse.com; published 2003-07-05, retrieved 4 July 2009.

• "PNG wildcard bid fails for Paralympics, Mopio Jane through", ABC Radio Australia, 18 June 2008

Olympic Games
Preceded by Dika Toua Toea Wisil	Flagbearer for  Papua New Guinea Beijing 2008 Rio de Janeiro 2016	Succeeded by Toea Wisil Incumbent