Whitmore to miss XTERRA Saipan—again

For the second straight year, American triathlete Jamie Whitmore will not be competing in XTERRA Saipan and Tagaman Tirathlon.

Whitmore, who dominated the first three years of XTERRA Saipan, is undergoing cancer treatment.

But while she’s fighting the dreaded disease, Whitmore had expressed her intention to return to Saipan in the future.

“She really wants to come here. Maybe next year depending on her progress,” said Wolf Mojica of Tagaman Inc. during a visit at his office by four pro triathletes from Europe—Renata Bucher and Jim McConnel of Switzerland and Julie Dibens and Sam Gardner of the United Kingdom.

Bucher said Whitmore always wanted to compete on Saipan just like all the other pros.

Dibens, meanwhile, said the trails here will always be an exciting one for all pros no matter how tough they are.

Whitmore underwent a second surgery last July when doctors removed her entire left gluteus maximus.

It was her second surgery in three months for spindle-cell sarcoma, a rare and life-threatening cancer that, if not aggressively treated, can move quickly to the organs and effectively shut down the body.

The cancer was discovered as Whitmore was preparing for the 2008 XTERRA season.

Reports had it that doctors removed a tumor and nearly all of Whitmore’s sciatic nerve in her left leg last April, limiting her neural function to the quadriceps and leaving her with little or no feeling.

The cancer then mounted a counterattack in July, forcing doctors to take out the entire muscle and the last piece of her nerve. Whitmore had to carry a pillow with her in order to sit without discomfort.

Whitmore won the 2007 XTERRA USA Championship, 2004 XTERRA World and 2003/04 XTERRA European series.

She had an outstanding season as a rookie pro in both the XTERRA Triathlon Series and the Norba Mountain Bike Series.

For six straight years, she had been competing in XTERRA Saipan and Tagaman, dominating both events from 2002 to 2004 until Bucher relegated her to second places in 2005 and 2006 and third in 2007.

Whitmore took the Tagaman four times and the PIC Double also for four times. Although Bucher won the XTERRA in 2006, Whitmore won the Tagaman and the PIC Double, which capped her remarkable stint on Saipan.