Athletics considering Pacific Games as prep for Micro Games
With not much competitions available for the NMI athletes at this time, Northern Marianas Athletics coach Elias Rangamar said they will use the events in the 2023 Pacific Games to prepare for next year’s Micronesian Games.
The Northern Marianas Athletics will send eight delegates—seven athletes and one team official—to the track and field competition in the 2023 Pacific Games, which Honiara, Solomon Islands is hosting from Nov. 19 to Dec. 2, 2023. The athletics event will run from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2, 2023.
“Since they moved the schedule of the Pacific Games to November, I am interested to know how athletes will perform because it’s offseason for majority of the athletes. With this factor and with limited local competitions, we will have the races and events in Solomons as preparations for the Micronesian Games,” Rangamar said.
Tania Tan, Theodore Rodgers, Pony Tang, Maria Quitugua, Casey Cruz, Alexander Camacho, and Lyle Pedro Andrew will represent Team Marianas in the athletics competition, while Greg Iginoef will accompany the group as team manager.
“We have young athletes on our field and they’ve been doing well in training. We’ targeting some PBs (personal bests) and notable performances from Tania, who has been actively competing this year, and Theo is doing very well in sprints training,” Rangamar said.
All seven athletes also represented the NMI in the Oceania Cup that Saipan hosted in July this year with Tan and Tang making it to the podium in their respective events. In Honiara, Tan is entered in the 5,000m, 10,000m, and half marathon races; Quitugua will join the 100m run and javelin throw; Cruz is competing in 100m and 200m races; Andrew is entered in hammer and discus throws; Camacho will do the 100m race and long jump; Rodgers is racing in the 100m and 200m events; and Tang will join the 800m and 1,500m races and 3,000m steeple chase.
The NMI track and field athletes will be competing against the representatives of 20 other countries, including early favorites New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea.
The athletics team and the rest of the Team Marianas delegation are supported by Joeten Daidai Foundation, Triple J, Crowne Plaza Resort, IT&E, IP&E, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Mobil, Tan Holdings, and McDonald’s. (PR)
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