Samoa’s Curreen scoops first medal

The 2008 Oceana Championships finally got going early yesterday morning with Samoa’s Aunese Curreen bagging the first gold medal of the competition by winning the men’s open 6-kilometer Cross Country held at the Laolao Bay Golf Resort.

The 27-year-old 800m specialist upset 2006 Oceania Championships silver medalist Brendan Whelan of Australia by finishing strong and completing the race in 21:05.

Whelan who led Curreen until the final 200m of the Cross Country came in four seconds behind the Beijing Olympics-bound Samoan in a time of 21:09, while Vanuatu’s Sam Lavi collected the silver, clocking in at 21:14.

The victory over Whelan, who is favored in the 5000m and half marathon, came as surprise for the mild-mannered Curreen.

“I feel happy but I didn’t expect to win the Cross Country. It’s not my event. I just took part in the Cross Country because my coach and I thought it would be a good part of my training for the Olympics,” he said in an interview with the Saipan Tribune.

“I stayed behind all the way and I just passed him maybe 200m to go. But I felt very strong the whole race. He specializes in Cross Country so it was a surprise for me that I beat him,” he added.

Whelan, for his part, said he wasn’t shocked that Curreen beat him in the Cross Country.

“I wasn’t surprised at all. He ran just behind me all the way. He’s an 800m and 400m runner. He’s going to the Olympics for the 800m. He always had a better finishing kick than I have. I should have tried to go out harder and try to burn him off but it didn’t work. Silver medal last time and silver medal this time, but I’m looking forward to 5000m and half marathon,” he said.

New Zealand’s Laura Nagel, meanwhile, was the first woman to cross the finish line en route to winning the under-18 Cross Country gold medal.

The 16-year-old almost matched her seed time of 10:40 by completing the 3-km run in 10:49.

“It [the course] was really good. It’s my first gold medal representing New Zealand so it was good. I liked the course because I really like the up-and-down [terrain],” said Nagel, who will also take part in the 800m race.

Teammate Daniel Trevis took silver with a time of 11:30 followed by Norfolk Island’s Jackie Gatland, 12:06, for the bronze. The CNMI’s Reylyn Sapong came in sixth, clocking in at 15:50.

Salome Dell gave Papua New Guinea the gold medal in the women’s open 3-km Cross Country, finishing in a time of 11:08. Guam athletes took silver and bronze with Marie Benito and Nicole Layson negotiating the course in 12:20 and 12:31, respectively.

The men’s under-18, meanwhile, saw Solomon Islands’ Gregory Foasilafu take the gold after reaching the finish line in 10:16. Guam again finished 2-3 with Christopher Magtoto winning the silver (10:20) and Jeofry Limtiaco the bronze (10:54).

The CNMI’s Oshima Mamiko and Matthew Mancao nearly bagged the bronze medals in the women’s open and men’s under-18 with times of 12:55 and 11:29, respectively. Champ Untalan came in sixth in the men’s under-18 (12:02).

With the results of the Cross Country in, New Zealand is on top of the early medal standings with a gold and a silver medal to their name. Samoa, Solomon Islands, and PNG are tied a second with a gold each, while Guam is in solo third with two silver and two bronze medals. Australia (one silver), Vanuatu (one bronze), and Norfolk Island (one bronze) account for nations that have won medals so far.