Tahiti, New Caledonia are first teams to arrive

Team Tahiti and two members of New Caledonia’s squad were the first athletes to arrive for this weekend’s 2008 Oceania Grand Prix Series and the 2008 Oceania Championships set for next week at the newly certified Oleai Track and Field.

The French Polynesia team, comprising 11 men and a woman, arrived on Saipan after a long flight from Tahiti at 7:15am yesterday, while the two members of the New Caledonia team took the red-eye flight from Noumea and touched ground at the Francisco C. Ada-Saipan International Airport at 3am.

Tahiti’s 110m hurdles champion and 2007 Pacific Games gold medalist Toriki Urarii appears to be the standout athlete for the French Polynesia team.

Another athlete to watch out for is Maetoa Pito in the men’s discus after throwing a national record in the open event with a throw of 50.62. On the same day, Maetoa broke the Tahiti junior record with the 1.75kg discus with a throw of 53.18.

Tahiti team manager Leo Brinkfield said, “we are looking forward to a successful Championships, with four of our athletes being selected in the Oceania Grand Prix Team.”

Oceania Athletics Association executive secretary Yvonne Mullins said the two athletes from New Caledonia will be part of the team’s six-man delegation to the 2008 Oceania Championships and 2008 Oceania Grand Prix.

Mullins said between 250 and 260 athletes are expected for the twin events, led by the CNMI’s 31 athletes.

Australia has 24 athletes, followed by Guam (23), New Zealand (18), Papua New Guinea (15), Fiji (15), Solomon Islands (12), Cook Islands (11), Tonga (10), Federated States of Micronesia (10), Nauru (10), Vanuatu (9), American Samoa (8), Palau (8), Kiribati (8), Marshall Islands (8), Samoa (8), Tuvalu (4), and Norfolk Island (4).

The 2008 Oceania Grand Prix kicks off tomorrow with 16 events lined up at the Oleai Sports Complex, starting with women’s high jump, women’s shot put, and men’s javelin throw at 5pm.

The women’s 1500 meter run is set at 5:30pm with the men’s 1500m run, men’s high jump, and women’s triple jump coming up 15 minutes later.

The women’s javelin throw, men’s shot put, and women’s 400m hurdles are also scheduled at 6pm, followed by the men’s 400m hurdles at 6:15.

Set at 6:30pm are the women’s 5000m run, the men’s 5000m run, and the men’s triple jump, while the women’s 100m sprint and the men’s century dash commence at 7pm and 7:15pm, respectively.