Triathlon goes for gold

The CNMI National Triathlon Team will leave for Palau today just in time to train and acclimate themselves for their Aug. 3 race in the 2005 South Pacific Mini Games.

Team Pepsi, as the six multi-sport athletes want to be called on account of their sponsorship deal with Pacific Trading Co., is led by three returnees from the CNMI’s successful bronze-medal stint in Fiji two years ago.

Aside from Stephan Samoyloff, Dirk Sharer, and Anneka Sakovich trying to have another go-around for the gold, the team is also made up of triathlon newbies Jack Kabiriel, Melissa Coleman, and Natasha Good.

Two-time Games bronze medalist Samoyloff—he won an individual medal in the 2001 Mini Games in Norfolk Island and teamed up with Sharer and Sakovich two years ago in Suva—is optimistic about Team Pepsi’s chances in 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10km run triathlon that would be held around the K-B Bridge area in Koror.

“As far as our chances, I can say clearly that this is our strongest team yet. The three returning veterans—Dirk, Anneka, and myself—are all improved from our fitness level in Fiji, particularly Dirk in the pool and Anneka on the bike. Anneka is having great success as an age grouper in California, and is no longer the ‘rookie’ biker that she was before Fiji,” he said.

Samoyloff said he would not be surprised if he sees either or both Sharer and Sakovich standing on the medal podium [for individual medals] after the race.

For his part, he remains humble and said he just hopes to improve on his time and be part of the team medal contribution.

On the question of Tahiti pulling out from the Mini Games and the CNMI suddenly becoming favorites for the silver if not challenge reigning gold medalist New Caledonia outright for the top spot, Samoyloff’s answer was tinged with competitiveness and genuine concern that athletes from French Polynesia failed to make it to Palau.

“We stacked up pretty close to them in Fiji, and I’m disappointed we won’t get to go head to head this year with our stronger team, because I feel we would have a legitimate shot at team silver even with them present,” he said.

On the make-up of the rest of the team, Samoyloff freely admits that Kabiriel, Coleman, and Good are novices in the sport, but he doesn’t in any way discount the contributions the trio has given and will continue to give to Team Pepsi.

“The other three athletes are ‘developmental,’ basically their first year of training specifically for triathlon, but they have responded very well, “ he said.

Samoyloff especially is eager to take cues on the two swimmers from the Saipan Swim Club and former SSC star Sakovich during the first split of the triathlon.

“They have an important role in the team medal hunt as well. All three athletes are good swimmers and can possibly help us get around the swim course faster by providing a friendly draft and pace lead out. I know I’m looking for Melissa, Natasha, and Anneka’s bubbles once the swim pack gets sorted out. I hope they swim straight,” he said.

He said the swim team girls have also quickly mastered transitions, bike repair, bike skills, and sprint running, which only shows the level of discipline and dedication Coleman and Good have poured in the sport.

As for Kabiriel, Samoyloff said the former long-distance runner is a natural for triathlon and he is betting that the soft-spoken athlete would one day find success in the sport.

“Jack, as an excellent runner, has been a shocker at how good his swimming is progressing, and keeps a very respectable pace behind us. He also can become a medal winner in a couple of years,” he said.

Ultimately, it is Samoyloff’s hope that Palau would only be a start of something big for all three “rookies” and eventually they would carry on what he, Sharer, Sakovich, Peter Sinclair, Kathryn Sinclair, and Vanessa Ince has done for sport of triathlon in the Commonwealth.

The Sinclairs and Ince were part of the triathlon team in the 2003 edition of the SPG.

“The hope is they’ll get such a good taste of the sport at a competitive level that they would persist with the training over the next two years and become the team anchors in 2007,” he said.