Shirato, Sawada dominate on Rota

ROTA—Professional triathlete Taro Shirato of Japan did it again this weekend by besting a field of 70 multisport enthusiasts in the Commonwealth’s southernmost link in the Marianas chain to win the 12th Annual Rota Blue Triathlon.

Shirato crossed the finish line of the Olympic-distance race in a little over two hours as he completed the 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-km bike, and 10-km run course in an amazingly swift 2:11:35.

The veteran of the international triathlon scene was the first out of the water after completing the nearly one-mile, open-water loop in 21:52, and raced through roughly 25-mile bike course with unequalled speed in 1:05:46, before crossing the finish line at the Rota Roundhouse with the second-fastest, six-mile run time of 43:57.

Shirato’s run was bested only by women’s champion and second overall finisher Airi Sawada of Japan. Sawada was hot on his tail all morning as the aspiring pro posted the second fastest swim time of the day after circling the buoys in 23:23, finished the bike course four minutes behind Shirato in 1:09:46, and topped the champ by 26 seconds to complete the run in 43:31 for a total of 2:16:40.

The Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation’s Rob Carruth of Saipan was the second best finisher of the men’s division to cross the finish line by braving Rota’s heat in 2:37:29. Carruth boasted top five times in the swim and bike courses with a 26:34 (3rd) and 1:15:37 (5th), respectively, before cruising through the scenic run course in 55:18 (14).

In his last race on Rota before departing for the mainland, Carruth finished fourth overall, as the second overall women’s finisher Erika Inoue edged him by a minute and a half.

After taking her time in the swim to complete the lap in the blue 11th overall in 31:22, Inoue stepped it up on the hilly bike course to finish sixth with a swift 1:1:16:22, and streaked through the run with the fourth fastest time of 48:14 before reaching the beach in Songsong at the 2:35:58 mark.

Yoshio Ito was two minutes off Carruth’s pace in the men’s race as he waded through the water in 33:57 before transitioning to the bike for a 1:17:17 lap around the course, but the 50-year-old multisport veteran saved his best for the run with the third best time of the day of 48:10 to finish third.

While the top two women finished in the top three overall, Youko Mineo toughed out a respectable swim, bike, and run to break the tape at 3:07:35 (27th overall). At 58 years young, Mineo topped a number of younger women with far less experience with a time of 37:28 (41st) in the swim, 1:30:10 (28th) on the challenging bike course, and a strong 10-km run in just under an hour at 59:57.

An additional 38 triathletes opted to test their physical and mental limits in the grueling Half-Ironman distance of the B Courses, and 30-year-old Masayuki Matsumaru crushed the competition with a remarkable overall time of 4:18:27 at the close of the 2-km swim, 90-km bike, and 21.1-km half-marathon run course.

Matsumaru finished first in every event as he knifed through the added 500 meters of water faster than almost half of the swimmers in the Olympic-distance race in 36:16 before cycling more than twice the distance in 2:15:55, and running the 13.1 miles in 1:26:16.

Chiyoko Nawa crossed the finish line about two hours later as the top female on Rota with an overall time of 6:14:14 with times of 1:00:33 on the swim, 3:11:15 on the bike, and 2:02:26 through the searing heat of the midday sun on the run.