Sharer, Motoyoshi represent well

Longtime Saipan residents Dirk Sharer and Meiko Motoyoshi had their work cut out for them but still made it over the hill Saturday, posting the fastest times among all Saipan contenders in the 16th Annual Tagaman Triathlon.

Sharer, who has competed in numerous triathlons throughout the years and was part of the bronze-winning CNMI Triathlon Team in the 2003 Suva South Pacific Games, took on the tough challenge and conquered it Saturday by crossing the finish line in 3:24:42, which was best in the men’s 40-44 age category and a sterling 12th overall.

He completed the 2-kilometer swim in 35:55, then pedaled his bike like the wind completing the 60-km leg in 1:42:30. He then rested comfortably at the American Memorial Park after finishing the excruciating 15-km run in 1:06:17.

“It was a good day,” he said. “The conditions were great, a little bit overcast, a little bit of light rain going out on the bike, so condition-wise it was really nice day for the race. I started out a little bit slow but hopped it out a little on the bicycle but had a great run and made up a lot of time and finished strong.”

For her part, Motoyoshi fooled many, making the course look easy with a smile as she danced across the finish line in 3:49:30.

The performance not only topped the women’s 25-29 age category, it was also good for fifth overall in the entire women’s field.

Motoyoshi had a solid start, pacing herself well and finished the swim in 33:53. She then tackled the bike leg in 2:00:03 before capping her day with a 1:15:34 run.

Other female age group winners included Tomomi Ishii and Saipan’s Melissa Coleman, who placed one and two in the 24-and-under group with times of 3:42:33 and 4:40:41, respectively.

Chihiro Endo and Ryoko Miyanono followed Motoyoshi in the 25-29 group, clocking in at 3:57:00 and 5:10:21, while Mitsu Shippee (3:52:57), Anna Maria Leon Guerrero (3:58:49), and Elaine Paplos (5:08:28) topped the 30-34 group.

Former professional runner and Pacific Development Inc. employee Akiko Hagiwara won the 35-39 category in 4:17:21, and was followed by Sue Knecht (4:45:18) and Jung Suk Kim (4:56:52), while Gil Ja Park (4:22:45), Yoko Igari (4:29:10), and Young Ae Lee (4:49:21) were the top three in the 40-44 category.

The 45-49 category winners were Sandra Reid (3:50:49), Hee Ran Yu (4:06:30), and Kathy Jenkins (4:11:34), while Fumiko Fuchi won the 55-59 category in 5:37:05.

In the men’s corner, 15-year-old Keenan Tydingco of Guam flashed through the course and reigned supreme in the 24-and-under category with a time of 3:44:33, while Caleb Gabbie (4:06:26) and the determined Syoki Sakano (5:56:03), considered an inspiration to all, followed.

Simon Toozoff (3:33:32), Gary Padsing (4:02:14), and Jack Kabiriel (4:10:17) took top honors in the 25-29 category, while Makato Nakao (3:22:23), Courtney Cardenas (3:26:19), and Atsushi Saito (3:39:03) grabbed the 30-34 category awards.

Mario Deicher (3:34:05) and Jay Johannesen (3:53:03) followed Sharer in the 40-44 group, while Yasunori Shinmura (3:37:47), In Taeg O (3:44:04), and Sang Haeng Lee (3:54:15) were winners in the 45-49 category.

Meanwhile, winners of the 50-54 group were Nicky Nichols (4:03:25), Florian Braig (4:07:15), and Shigenobu Matsuda ( 5:05:20.

Yoshihiro Mizoguchi outclassed the 55-59 category in 5:17:39 while Atsushi Hirane (4:07:25), Kurt Bittlingmaier (4:48:23), and Daiki Sakuma (4:56:33) proved age was not a factor, taking the 60-and-over category. Also with a notable performance in the 60-and-over was Masatura Matsumoto, who crossed the finish line in 5:54:07.

Meanwhile, the dynamic trio of Rachel Bandolin, Richard Brostrom, and Cooper Schraudenbach hung tough and combined forces to go home as champions of the relay competition.

Bandolin kicked things off with a 32:02 swim, Brostrom followed and biked for 1:47:28, and Schraudenbach completed their tag-team journey with a relay competition best 1:00:31 run for an overall time of 3:20:01.

Eli Rezne Wong, Renato Calague, and Ceasar Danao placed second after clocking in at 3:23:40, while the duo of Noriko Takano and Kiyoko Takahashi took home third place.

Wong had the second-best time in the swim among relay competitors at 29:29, Calague cruised on the bike for 1:44:57, and Danao strolled for a 1:09:14 run.

Takano did the swim (29:37) and run (1:13:43) and Takahashi took care of the bike in 1:43:25.