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.