Daly sprints to the finish in return to triathlon

Part one of two

After roughly a year away from the local multisport scene, Kieran Daly took the tape of the Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation’s Sprint Distance triathlon over the weekend that was held in conjunction with the second qualifying race for the 2006 Micronesian Games.

Choppy seas and brisk winds were no match for Daly, as the veteran triathlete got off to a terrific start by blowing away the pack with a time of 7:48 on the 480m swim before cranking out a remarkable 38:12 on the 20km bike course.

Daly failed to let up in the final leg despite a healthy lead, as he completed the 4.5km run course in 21-minutes flat to finish first overall with a combined time of 1:07:00.

Rough sea conditions precluded race organizers from planting race buoys on the course so they improvised by starting at the corral head near the beach and circling at the swimming dock behind the Hotel Nikko. The Qualifiers made two laps around the circuit for a total of 960m while the Sprint and Enticer racers went once around the block for a 480m wade in the choppy water.

Another long absent NMITF member returned to the race scene with favorable results as Russ Quinn took second place in his first time back to the three sport track with a time of 1:13:50.

Quinn was fourth out of the water following a difficult swim (9:14) before cranking out a second best 40:11 atop his “little red corvette” on the bike course, and muscling out the third fastest run time of 24:25.

Yoshi Suzuki put his talents on display to take third in the Sprint race with a time of 1:15:12 just a week after winning his age group in the 20th Annual Saipan 10km Run. After hitting the sand seven racers back following a 9:38 swim, Suzuki picked up a place on the bike with a 44:24 lap around the circuit before picking off runners like it was going out of style with the second best time of 21:10.

Joshua Berger’s training paid off in droves as he bagged fourth place with an overall time of 1:17:25. Berger hit the ground running after finishing the swim in 9:54 swim, but gained plenty of ground with the third fastest 20km bike time at 41:59 atop his two-wheeled machine. The tireless Berger still had enough gas in the tank to hammer out a speedy 25:32 on the run.

Ricky Melchor and Phil Debaras tied for fifth when they crossed the finish line at 1:18:04, almost a full minute ahead of up and coming star Manny Sitchon, at 1:19:03. The ageless Fred Camacho completed the course in 1:19:57 a week after completing his first marathon, and Cooper Graf who smoked the swim in 8:03 (2), finished with overall time of 1:26:58. The Saipan Swim Club product lost ground with a time of 51:57 on the bike and 35:08 on the run, but he is still re-cooping from a few bumps and bruises from the training trail.

The first women’s finisher was also in her first race. Rookie Elisa Long was third overall in the swim with a time of 9:02, before peddling to a time of 51:58 on the bike, followed by a time of 25:58 on the run to finish alongside Graf at 1:26:58.

The Sprint racers weren’t the only triathletes to join the Olympic distance challengers on the course as Mike Busby swam the 480m, 16km bike, and 2.5km run in a combined time of 1:33:55. Jonathan Perez of the Marianas Variety didn’t swim, but met head on with the bike and run to finish with a combined time of 1:31:00.

While the specifics are yet to be released, the NMITF organizers announced that their next race will take mountain bike riders on a bumpy journey during the 2nd Annual Down and Dirty Mountain Bike Race on Saturday, Feb. 18. The next generation of racers will get another dose of adventure a week earlier as the Kids Tryathlon series continues on Saturday, Feb. 11.