‘Good performance for Team NMI in Fiji’

The four-athlete NMI athletics delegation in Suva, Fiji wrapped up their stint in the 2024 Oceania Athletics Championships yesterday with a good performance overall, according to team official Edward Dela Cruz Jr.

Team captain/coach Zarinae Sapong, young sprinters Theodore Rodgers and Casey Cruz, and multi-awarded runner Tania Tan competed in their respective events last Tuesday.

The OAC is from June 1 to June 8, with the last events for NMI held yesterday.

Dela Cruz said that the team’s performance over the past few days was “good. They did their best and came out healthy with a locked mindset for Micronesian games which is our goal.” For Northern Marianas Athletics, he said they are “happy with it and are looking forward to the Micronesian Games now which will be a much larger delegation for athletics.”

Sapong and Rodgers took on the 200m sprints yesterday, with Sapong coming close yet again to advancing to the semis.

Sapong clocked in at 27.63 seconds, seconds short of her PR of 27.40 seconds. She almost qualified for the semis, but placed fourth in her heat that qualifies just three runners. The 26-year-old finished 20th overall out of 26.

“The conditions were a bit windy, which can definitely be a challenge. overall, it was a good experience but I know there’s still room for improvement,” said Sapong. “Definitely looking forward to the Micro Games in the next two weeks. In any case, there’s always something to learn and ways to get better, and that’s what I’m aiming for.”

As for Rodgers, he came close to his PR of 23.76 seconds in the 200m with a time of 24.40 seconds.

“The 100m and 200m races were both great races where I was able to learn a lot for the next race. The competition conditions were great and very humbling. I’m looking forward to get new personal bests,” said the Grace Christian Academy incoming senior.

Cruz, who competed in the 100m last Wednesday, was supposed to compete in the 200m yesterday. However, she had to pull out of the race because of a nagging ankle injury she suffered two weeks ago.

She said, “I had to pull out because I am not physically and mentally ready. I’m still recovering from my ankle injury and I don’t want it to get worse. Also, I haven’t been able to train much since my injury, so my mind is not in the right state for it,” said the recent Saipan Southern High School graduate.

Even with that, she said, “It’s okay though, I’m taking this time to recover properly because I have the Micronesian Games that will be held in the Marshall Islands in two weeks and I want to perform my best there.”

With how she feels heading to the Micronesian Games soon, she said, “As of right now, I’m feeling confident. I just need to recover [well] and take care of myself and I’ll be fine.”

As for her 100m race performance, she said, she was “incredibly grateful” that she got to race in that. “I competed in the 100m race and finished fourth in my heat. While I didn’t set a new personal best, I’m proud of myself for overcoming the injury and being able to compete,” said Cruz.

The competition, she said, was “fantastic so far. I’ve had the chance to watch people from different countries compete, and I’ve even competed myself. Along the way, I’ve met many new people.”

For Tan, who broke her PR in the 1,500 last Tuesday, she said the conditions for her race was cloudy and cool, so it was a nice run. As for her 5,000m last Wednesday, she said it was in the afternoon so it was sunny and hot.

As for the competition, she said it “was tough. The lead group was running way faster than I’ve ever ran. I knew they were going to go out fast so I tried to focus on my own race and run my own race.”

On her performance, she said, “I’m happy with how I raced both races. I fell short of my goals but, overall, just grateful to be here and being given another opportunity to compete for the NMI internationally.”

“The championships so far have been really run. The Fijian hospitality has been great, everyone here has been so welcoming and friendly,” said Tan in her second Oceania Athletics Championships.

On the championships overall, Dela Cruz said that it was great. “Thanks to World Athletics for changing the qualification system for the Olympics—it has forced elite athletes to take part in area championships again and elevate the field. We had Australia and New Zealand and elite athletes compete which didn’t really happen in the past,” he said.

“We cannot thank Oceania Athletics enough. All the athletes and team personnel were taken care of. Thank you to all the sponsors, stakeholders in Fiji for supporting and holding an excellent Oceania championship: World Athletics Area Association, Athletics Fiji, Fiji national sports commission, Fiji Sports Council, Digicel Pacific, Coca-Cola, Euro Pacific, Partners Fiji, Fiji TV, and PasifikaTV,” he said.

He added, “Thank you to the [local organizing committee] for doing such an amazing job. Thank you to our own NMA, for taking very good care of us during this trip as well.”