Ryan John Pini MBE (born 10 December 1981 in

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Ze ...

) is a 4-time Olympic swimmer from

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. He swam for PNG at the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, and

2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

; also serving as the PNG flagbearer in 2008 and 2016. He is the first PNG swimmer ever to reach an Olympic final. 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 The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 ( Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

, 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 Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

of Australia and Moss Burmester of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. 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 The 2007 World Aquatics Championships, or the XII FINA World Championships, were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007. The competition took place at three locations in central Melbourne: the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic ...

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

at the

Opening Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

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 Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold med ...

, who took gold. Pini was the first Papua New Guinean ever to swim an Olympic final.

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.

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 Stradbroke Island, also known as Minjerribah, was a large sand island that formed much of the eastern side of Moreton Bay near Brisbane, Queensland until the late 19th century. Today the island is split into two islands: North Stradbroke Isl ...

. 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 The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

–

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

(for services to swimming) • 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) SPG'03-Swimming: ''Swimmers of the Meet Named''
from SportingPulse.com; published 2003-07-05, retrieved 4 July 2009.

Career best times

Long course (50-metre pool) Short course (25-metre pool)

Out of the pool

• Sponsorships:

Bank South Pacific Bank South Pacific (or BSP) is the largest bank in Papua New Guinea, with 35 branches throughout the country and in 6 countries. BSP currently services over 650,000 business banking customers throughout the Pacific. As at 31 December 2014, BSP had ...

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

(2011 to current), Airlines PNG (2007 to 2009)

External links

*
"Pini claims swimming glory"
Naziah Ali, University of the South Pacific, 1 July 2003

References

ABC Radio Australia, 18 June 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pini, Ryan 1981 births Living people Papua New Guinean male swimmers Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers of Papua New Guinea Male butterfly swimmers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Papua New Guinea Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Papua New Guinea Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games People from the National Capital District (Papua New Guinea) Members of the Order of the British Empire Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming