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Whitmore and Chalker claim Xterra Saipan championship
April 14, 2003

Courtesy: event press release

Jamie Whitmore of California defended her title and Australia's Jason Chalker posted the fastest swim, bike, and run splits of the day at the 2nd Annual XTERRA Saipan Championship in the Northern Mariana Islands on April 12.

An international field of 130 athletes from Japan, Australia, Switzerland, Guam, Saipan, and all over the United States enjoyed ideal race day conditions with warm tropical weather, crystal clear turquoise waters, and cool breezes at the top of the mountain bike climb up Mt. Tapotchau.

The championship race consisted of a 1.5-kilometer ocean swim, a 30k mountain bike that climbed 1,500 feet to the highest point on the island, and an epic 12k trail run that took participants through heavy jungle, into secret caves used during World War II, and across a 1.5-mile stretch of white sand beach to the finish.

Experience played a key role in both the men and women's pro race. Chalker, who finished 3rd last year in Saipan, took six- minutes off his time of a year-ago to finish 14-minutes ahead of runner-up Yu Yumoto from Japan. Whitmore, who picked up her first-ever XTERRA title in Saipan in 2002, powered through the run course to overcome a six-minute deficit heading into the run to edge Melissa Thomas of Colorado by 1:29.

From the cannon blast that signaled the start of the race Chalker was in front, using dolphin-dive tactics to get an early advantage in the shallow-water swim. He exited the water in 20:15, 27-seconds ahead of Makoto Nagatome, an ITU World Cup competitor from Japan.

"I dolphined almost the entire course after the second buoy and because I was taller than the other guys it was faster," said Chalker. "It turned out to be a really good decision."

Local Saipan Swim Club member and relay team swimmer Seung Jin Lee was third out of the water in 20:46. Renee Scheer, a relay swimmer from Guam, was the first female into the swim-to-bike transition with a time of 23:34. Japanese Olympic triathlete Haruna Hosoya was right behind, and Whitmore followed in 23:57.

Melissa Thomas was fourth into transition, but quickly turned that into a big lead when Whitmore caught a nail in her tire three miles into the bike.

"I knew when I saw Jamie changing her tire that it was my chance to put some time on her going into the run, which I knew I needed because she's such a great trail runner," said Thomas, who posted the fastest bike split of the day. The moment was equally as critical for Whitmore.

"It was mentally pretty tough when I flatted because it was so humid, it took almost six minutes, and I'm watching Melissa go by...but at the same time I was getting a lot of encouragement and people telling me don't give up, don't give up, and once I fixed the flat I felt like all my bad luck was out of the way," said Whitmore.

It certainly was. Once on the run Whitmore made up close to six- minutes and finally passed Thomas with just a few miles to go in the race.

"Coming into Saipan I was counting on running the race of my life and I did. I knew all the ins-and-outs and I was on...I almost fell a few times because I knew I had to make up a lot of time," said Whitmore, who blazed the run in 1:02:38 - the third best split overall behind Chalker and Nagatome.

For Chalker the race was all about keeping the pace.

"I really couldn't see anyone behind me so it was hard to tell how far in front I was so I just kept pushing the entire race," said Chalker, who was the only competitor with a sub one-hour run split at 54:45. "Last year I had a poor run so I really wanted to make up for it but through the jungle you can't really go that fast so I walked a lot of it...but then when I hit the road I went really hard."

Perhaps the most impressive performance of the afternoon came from Japan's first-ever XTERRA World Champion age grouper, 46- year-old Keiji Matsuba, who finished sixth overall and top amateur male. His time of 3:12:03 was just 32 minutes behind Chalker.

The top overall female was Susan Seay of Tamuning, Guam in 4:11:38. The winning relay team was comprised of Renee Scherr (Swim, Guam), Derek Horton (third best bike split, Guam), and Reiko Numamoto (run, Saipan). Their time of 3:04:38 was fourth- best overall and the best of eight teams in the championship.

The race served as an important Nissan Xterra World Championship qualifier for athletes from Guam, Japan, and Saipan. A total of 23 athletes* earned their place at the start line in Maui by virtue of their performance today.

There was also an XTERRA Sport race comprised of a 750-meter swim, 20k-mountain bike, and 8k trail run. The overall male winner was Masahito Kaneto of Japan in 2:00:44. The female champion was Meg Nuttall (Chalker's girlfriend) from Australia in 2:08:00. The top relay team consisted of Nina Mosley (swim), Betty Johnson (bike) and Vicki King (run) of Saipan in 2:44:58.

The 2003 XTERRA Saipan Championship was filmed by TEAM Unlimited and all the action will be put together for a half-hour feature show to be broadcast in Saipan, Guam, on Gaora in Japan, and across the United States through national syndication starting in June of 2003. For more information visit www.xterraplanet.com.


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