Previous Story
Tinian’s Manglona glad to finish XTERRA Saipan
|
Posted on Apr 21 2009
Tinian’s first XTERRA Saipan Championship competitor Joshua Manglona is more than happy to make it to the finish line of Saturday’s race.
For Manglona, completing the eighth staging of the grueling race was already a big achievement not only for him as an athlete but also for his home island.
His experience could also serve as an eye opener for athletes from Tinian to follow Manglona’s footsteps and give triathlon a try.
“It was hard,” was all he said moments after submitting a total time of four hours, 40 minutes, and 54 seconds.
“My legs started giving up but I just pushed it hard and moved on and finished the race,” he said.
In the bike, Manglona crashed four times. “There’s too many trenches,” he said.
His time didn’t warrant an invitation to this year’s XTERRA World Championships but Manglona vowed to continue training to make it to Maui someday.
“I really want to go to Maui in the future,” said the 21-year-old teacher at Tinian Headstart.
Manglona’s time was good for 49th overall. He came in 54th in the swim (30:39), 46th in the bike (2:26:16), and 47th in the run (1:38:56).
“I will try to make it better next year,” Manglona said, adding that the run portion was the hardest part of Saturday’s race.
Manglana will also compete in next Saturday’s Tagaman. “I want to try it and come back for a better finish,” he said.
Quincy Johnson won the men’s 20-24 years old division by checking in a time of 4:23:37 (22:35 in the swim, 2:24:49 in the bike, and 1:36:13 in the run), 17 minutes ahead of Manglona.
Johnson actually almost didn’t finish the race due to a flat tire. But thanks to Janet King, he was able to complete the course after the former Miss CNMI and Public Defender loaned him her bike.
Ironically, King like Manglona is from Tinian. She was also one of Mangona’s first well-wishers after he crossed the finish line.
Saipan’s Lewie Tenorio also extended a congratulatory message to Manglona.
Tenorio finished in 21st place and earned an invitation for this year’s World Championships, which could lead a way for the first Chamorro pro triathlete.
He clocked in at 3:47:30, which was good for third place in his age bracket (35-39).
