Zarinae off to World Athletics Champs 

CNMI’s elite sprinter and one of Micronesia’s most experienced athletes, Zarinae Sapong, is off to the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary that’s scheduled for Aug. 19-27.

Her 100m event race is set for Aug. 20.

The 25-year-old said now that it’s about a week until competition, “With about a week left, I’m feeling a mix of anticipation and focus. It’s the final stretch and the excitement is definitely building.”

As for her preparation and training, she said “Me and coach Eli [Rangamar] have been working on a few things, looking back at my performance during the Oceania Cup and making adjustments here and there.”

Sapong finished sixth overall in the Oceania Cup 100m event last June with a time of 13.20 seconds and finished seventh in the 200m race with a time of 27.37.

Her personal best in the 100m event is 12.98 seconds which she set in the 2022 World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon. Although she broke her own record, she did not progress to the next round.

In this World Championship, her main goal is to push herself and set a new 100m personal best. 

The new program coordinator for the Northern Marianas Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence also competes in 200m events, with a personal best time of 27.40 seconds.

Sapong was also CNMI’s representative in the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships.

She also competed in two World Indoor Championships in 2016 and broke her 60m PR in the 2018 event with a time of 8.54 seconds.