Furukawa, Nakato glide to take 27th Annual Ocean Swim

Last of two parts

Tadahiro Furukawa and Hiroshi Nakato demonstrated their aquatic talents on Saturday morning, as they rocketed through the water to take the masters division of the 27th Annual Saipan Ocean Swim in the crystal clear waters of the Saipan Lagoon.

Furukawa’s time of 37:25 along the 2.5-kilometer course was good enough for the fastest time for the 40-49 year old division as well the rest of the 20-and-overs in the age group, while Nakato’s time of 22:51 in the 1.3km course bested the field in the one lap event.

Furukawa’s two-lap time around the partially submerged Sherman tanks was a solid 2:42 faster than second-place finisher Jessica Jordan (40:07.00), who barely edged long-time swimmer Rachael Bandelin (40:07.01) in the most exciting finish of the morning.

Jordan and Bandelin were neck and neck as the duo raced from the sea to the sand, but Jordan won by a nose as she crossed the finish line a half step ahead of the teacher from Saipan International School.

Third place finisher in the women’s 20-29 division Mieko Motoyoshi of the Pacific Islands Club wasn’t far behind the two, as she reached the sand 34 seconds later in fifth place overall. The PIC was also represented with the sixth overall finisher, as Diana Heintz emerged from the lagoon with a time of 43:01.

The only male in the age group was fellow Clubmate Mario Puntilug, who crossed the line with a time of 51:17.

The age race continued, as the president of the Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation, Stephan Samoyloff finished fourth overall to take the 30-39 age group with a time of 40:17. Samoyloff was almost five minutes faster than second place Richard Sikkel (45:11), and left younger competitor Tamio Nishikido (40:58) far behind as well. Sue Knecht swam alone for the women in the same age group, and finished strong with a time of 51:30.

Furukawa’s closest competition in the 40-49 year-old division was Rob Carruth, who finished eighth overall and second in the group with a time of 43:09. Mark Staal finished third in the division and ninth overall with a time of 43:21, but both of them finished after the lone female in the age group, Carol Lynn Calobong-Pierce, crossed the line seventh overall with a time of 43:04.

The 34-year-old Nakato’s one-lap time along the 1.3-km course was only 1:35 better than second place finisher, local track and field star, 29-year-old Jack Kabriel (23:28). Nicky Nichols was the third overall finisher, as the 50-year-old hit the sand running at the 23:33 mark, seconds ahead of ageless wonder Bill Sakovich (23:36).

Clubmate Paul Gauci bagged second place in the 20-29 age group with a time of 27:59, while multi-sport enthusiast Butch Sublemente took third with a time of 38:38.

After Nakato, the second finisher in the 30-39 year-old category was Ty Izuka, who crossed the line in sixth place overall (26:29), followed by Yoshiharu Suzuki (28:12), and Takahito Kobayahi (37:49).

Harumi Sugihasi and Laura Hohmann were the top two women finishers in the same age group, as they crossed the line in 28:18 and 31:09, respectively.

Manny Sitchon and Fil De Barras finished 1-2 in the men’s 40-49 age group with respective times of 28:21 and 29:01, but the top females of the age group bested them both, as Patty Staal (27:14) and Sibylla Leon Guerrero (28:07) blazed the trail for the 40-somethings. Laila Qudsi (31:41), Pam Thorpe (36:31), and Betty Johnson (44:20) rounded out the age group with strong work in the water.

Third place finisher Nichols took the top spot in the 50-59 age group, while Joshua Berger (29:28) and Alan Barak (29:30) made up the top three of the men’s division, while fifth place overall went to Suzy Kindel (25:45), the top women’s finisher in the 50-plus club. Kindel was joined by second-place finisher Monica Yamaguchi (37:44) at the awards ceremony, while fourth-place finisher Bill Sakovich of the men’s 60-and-over was joined by fellow swimming sage Perry Conner (39:04).