TOP SPORTS STORY OF 2023: 13 medals in 2023 Pacific Games

It was a show of the relentlessness of the human spirit and the capabilities of the human body as Team NMI’s 100-plus athletes were forged like steel in the tough and competitive environment in Honiara, Solomon Islands, for almost three weeks during the 2023 Pacific Games from Nov. 15 to Dec. 3.

Despite all the trials and tribulations they went through, Team NMI still was able to flourish at the highest level—and the icing on top of hauling in 13 medals—five of which were gold, one was silver, and seven were bronze—the team’s performance in the South Pacific is named Saipan Tribune’s 2023 Sports Story of the Year.

Not only did hardware gleam and glisten on the athletes’ necks, with their photos and names etched forever in the history books, a Pacific Games record was broken in the sport of athletics, along with multiple NMI national records reset during the competition.

The number 13 isn’t such bad luck after all as the medal haul of 13 was good enough to be ranked 13 out of 24 Pacific island nations.

The five gold medals came by way of weightlifting’s Ray Santos who gave the team its first gold of the Games in the snatch portion of the 55kg weight class; bodybuilding’s Christina Tudela handed the team its first gold medal won by a woman athlete; Tania Tan won two gold medals—one in the 5,000m and one in the 10,000m race—and broke a Pacific Games record in the 5,000m race with a time of 18:08.69; and 17-year-old high school swimmer Isaiah Aleksenko outswam seasoned athletes in the 200m butterfly.

The lone silver medal went to Santos in the overall category of his weight class and also won bronze in the clean & jerk portion.

The six other bronze medals went to Aleksenko in the 100m butterfly; weightlifting’s Leowell Cristobal in the clean & jerk portion of the 67-kg class; the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team made up of Juhn Tenorio, Taiyo Akimaru, Aleksenko, and Kean Pajarillaga, and the 4x100m medley relay team that consisted of Tenorio, Kouki Watanabe, Aleksenko, and Pajarillaga; bodybuilding’s Davy Laxa in the under 65-kg weight class; and the volleyball duo of Logan Mister and Andrew Johnson handed the team its final medal after defeating host team Solomon Islands.

There were also multiple fourth and fifth place finishes by NMI athletes in the 10 sports they competed in.

To scale, the CNMI is considered to be one of the smallest participating countries, population-wise, and competed in just 10 sports—while powerhouse countries like New Caledonia, Tahiti, and host Solomon Islands competed in almost all if not all 24 sports.

After the CNMI’s more than successful hosting of the 2022 Pacific Mini Games—which was considered to be the best by the Pacific Games Council—it goes to show not only can the tiny Commonwealth that could compete and host on a small scale, but also hang in there with the big boys on a much bigger stage as the Pacific Games.

The 2023 Pacific Games drew more than 5,000 athletes and officials from all over Oceania in the biggest sporting event in the region—which is considered to be the Pacific’s “Olympics” as it’s held every four years.

With that, this was the best showing of Team NMI in a Pacific Games ever. So, congratulations to the CNMI, its athletes, and its sponsors Joeten Daidai Foundation, Triple J, Crowne Plaza Resort, IT&E, IP&E, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Mobil, Tan Holdings, and McDonald’s of Guam & Saipan, for a top-tier performance in the biggest sporting competition in the Pacific.