More than a race for former Miss CNMI

For Janet King, competing in the 20th Tagaman Triathlon last Saturday was a way of inspiring her beloved but ailing mother to exercise.

The ex-Public Defender Office attorney took part in the relay of the 1.5-kilometer swim, 60-km bike, and 15-km run triathlon, teaming up with swimmer Andrew Kimball and runner John Douglas.

The trio came in sixth place with a time of 4:03:03, but finishing the longest-running multi-sport event in Micronesia and taking home a shiny medal was just the tip of the iceberg for the former Miss CNMI.

According to King, her 66-year-old mother sees sports competitions like Tagaman as motivation to exercise her own body. King said that the left side of her mother’s body was affected by a major brain hemorrhage that happened about two and half years ago.

“It left her in a completely debilitated state, but my mom is a strong woman,” said King. “She’s so happy and proud, and says ‘I can, too,’” said King, describing her mother’s reaction to the medal.

King resigned from her post at PDO last year to take care of her mother, Lucy Han King. Her father, Juan Borja King, passed away on Oct. 9, 2008.

King’s Tagaman stint concluded her two-week experience in the 2009 Saipan Sport Fest.

Last April 18, she took part in the 8th Annual XTERRA Saipan Championship and although she didn’t finish, her generosity by lending her bike to Quincy Johnson paved the way for former national swimmer and current national cager to finish first in the 20-24 age group.

It was kind of bittersweet for King, as her good friend and fellow Tinian resident Joshua Manglona also competed in the division and finished second to Johnson, barely missing out on an invitation to the 2009 XTERRA World Championships on Oct. 25 in Makena, Hawaii.

Manglona incidentally also tackled the Tagaman last Saturday and crossed the finish line in 35th place with a time of 4:27:23.

The Tinian Headstart staff did the swim in 47:29, tackled the grueling bike course in 2:04:31, and soldiered on in the run with a time of 1:30:06.

As well as getting invaluable experience by joining Tagaman and XTERRA Saipan the week before, for Manglona taking part in the 2009 Saipan Sports Fest came with an added bonus of meeting and interacting with triathlon pros.

He met and became friends with many of them, including Switzerland’s Renata Bucher, Great Britain’s Jim McConnel, and Saipan’s very own pro athlete, Mieko Carey.