Papua New Guinea will be represented by four swimmers at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Beijing, China, from December 1 to 6, 2026.
Papua New Guinea Swimming Inc. (PNGSI) has selected Helena Faunt, Josh Tarere, Thomas Chen, and Jhnayali Tokome-Garap for the international competition, where they will face some of the world's leading short-course swimmers.
All four athletes are currently training in Brisbane and Melbourne and will be accompanied by coach Rick Van der Zant and team manager Carly Pini.
Faunt, representing Boroko Amateur Swimming Club (BASC), will make her international debut following her recent record-breaking performance at the FedEx National Short Course Swimming Championships in Lae, Morobe.
The 14-year-old swimmer clocked 28.38 seconds in the girls' 50-metre short-course freestyle, breaking the previous national age-group record of 28.55 seconds held by Savannah Tkatchenko since 2014.
Tarere and Chen, both members of the BSP Kundu Gold Target Squad, bring valuable international experience to the team following their participation in the recent Commonwealth Games.
Tokome-Garap, a member of the BSP Kundu Platinum Target Squad, also joins the team after a remarkable run of performances in international competition.
She set three PNG national age-group short-course records in the girls' 17-year-old 50-metre freestyle, backstroke and butterfly at the Queensland Short Course Championships in Brisbane in August.
She also broke the PNG national age-group long-course record in the girls' 17-year-old 50-metre butterfly at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July.
Tarere, Chen and Tokome-Garap have each competed at multiple World Aquatics Swimming Championships, giving the team valuable experience ahead of the Beijing event.
PNGSI said the selection reflected the swimmers' development, performances and experience within the national athlete pathway.
The championships will provide the four athletes with an opportunity to test themselves against elite international competition.
PNGSI congratulated the selected swimmers and acknowledged the contribution of their clubs, coaches.