NMI athletes ready to take on OAC

The NMI athletics delegation is in Suva, Fiji and is ready to take on the 2024 Oceania Athletics Championships.

The event started last June 1 and will end on June 8, but Team NMI’s first events are set for today.

NMI’s finest track stars Tania Tan, Zarinae Sapong, Theodore Rodgers, and Casey Cruz are gearing up for their events this week.

Tan will tear up the track first today in the Women’s 10,000m run senior event, then will race in the 1,500m senior event tomorrow, and will cap it off with a 5,000m Senior race this Wednesday, June 5.

Team captain/coach Sapong will then sprint her fastest in the Women’s 100m sprint senior prelims tomorrow and the 200m senior prelims on Thursday.

Up-and-coming sprinters Rodgers and Cruz will have their time to shine in their events tomorrow and Thursday, June 6.

Rodgers will try to break his PBs in the men’s 100m and 200m sprint senior prelims, while Cruz is also out to set new PBs in the women’s 100m and 200m sprint senior prelims.

Team NMI official Edward Dela Cruz headed out with Tan, Sapong, Rodgers, and Cruz to Fiji last Tuesday. Northern Marianas Athletics general secretary Robin Sapong is also in Fiji in his capacity as Oceania Athletics president.

Dela Cruz said of the athletes, “We’re very confident in them that they will be doing their best and aiming for a season’s best or personal best over this championship. They have worked very hard here to qualify and get here and we cannot be prouder of them.”

When asked how the team is doing, he said, “They are anxious and excited—for Rodgers and Cruz especially as this will be their first ever Oceania Championships.”

He added, “Their mindset is focused solely on the competition and preparing for it each day. They’ll be working with Zarinae to prepare for event days.”