Marceau, Whitmore rule Tagaman again

Defending champions Olivier Marceau of Switzerland and Jamie Whitmore of the United States put up phenomenal performances yesterday, both conquering the Tagaman Triathlon for the second straight year.

Marceau, Whitmore, and almost a hundred other competitors lined up at the shore behind the Pacific Islands Club while many residents were still enjoying their sleep.

Marceau won his second triathlon title in eight days—he also won last Saturday’s XTERRA Saipan Championships—beating everyone in the 16th staging of the Tagaman with a time of 2:57:44.

The Swiss machine began his Tagaman journey by posting the second fastest time in the 2-kilometer swim, only four seconds behind Pieter Brauns of Australia who came out of the water in a time of 26:52.

The Swiss Olympian quickly caught up with Brauns in the 60-km bike leg, and began to balloon his lead to a comfortable margin.

“The bike is my strongest,” he said. “I started the bike with him and just ride at my pace. I push hard to break away and at the U-turn, I saw I had a good lead.”

Marceau completed the bike course in 1:29:14 and quickly went through the bike-to-run transition before tackling the 15-km run mostly along Beach Road in 1:01:34.

“I’m quite happy,” he said shortly after completing his quest at the finish line at the American Memorial Park.

“My aim was to win the double which I did, and I’m having a good time on Saipan, just enjoying.”

Asked how tough it was competing in two triathlons in a span of eight days, Marceau replied: “It’s not too hard. I’m use to it…it’s my job.”

For her part, Whitmore rebounded from a runner-up finish in last week’s XTERRA and made it two Tagaman titles in a row, completing the tough task in 3:12:05.

Out of the 25 female individuals, Whitmore posted the second-best swim performance, getting out of the water after stroking for 31:30.

The reigning XTERRA World champion kicked it up a notch while pedaling on her bike and began to moves away from the field. She held a sizable lead after completing the bike in 1:38:00, and after leaving a cheering crowd at the transition area, Whitmore was happy not to have any mechanical problems this time out.

She then returned to the AMP after a good charge in the run, which she conquered in 1:02:35.

“No problems this time,” she said shortly after securing her second straight Tagaman title and fifth on Saipan, including three straight XTERRA titles. “I feel very good. I was glad for the wind because I am a strong wind rider.”

Whitmore, whose training deals with strong wind conditions, also said she could have finished earlier but held back a bit, thinking she was pushing too hard.

“I guess I could’ve pushed harder,” she said.

Both Marceau and Whitmore said they are interested in returning to defend their crown next year.

“Definitely,” said Whitmore. “I will do both next year and hopefully there’ll be more people.”

Finishing second overall was 2003 XTERRA Saipan champion winner Jason Chalker of Australia, while Brauns, Stuart Smith, and Scott Penny capped the top five.

Chalker was more than a minute and a half behind Brauns and Marceau after the swim, but rallied behind his bike before posting the fastest run time. He passed Brauns while on the bike and finished his day clocking in at 3:00:01.

Brauns placed third in 3:01.14, Smith fourth in 3:03:31, and Penny fifth in 3:09:13.

Don Everest (3:16:02), Jason Marino (3:18:19), and Yu Hun Park (3:20:17) also punched in notable performances in the men’s open.

Meanwhile, newly crowned XTERRA Saipan champion Renata Bucher powered her way to a runner-up finish in a time of 3:22.31.

Bucher was No. 8 out of the water among individual female competitors, before rolling on high gear and working to second place while still on the bike. She tried to make up ground on Whitmore on the run, completing the challenge about a minute faster, however, she was just too far behind on the overall time.

Colleen Penny took third place in 3:34:17.

Saipan’s Dawn Hammermeister and Guam’s Donna Baker placed fourth and fifth to cap the women’s open in 4:03:12 and 4:11:17.