Northern Marianas Athletics General Secretary and Oceania Athletics President Robin Sapong delivers his remarks during the 2023 Oceania Cup opening ceremony on Thursday at the Oleai Sports Complex track and field oval.
THE 2023 Oceania Cup went beyond expectations in terms of numbers as a total of 23 countries and territories competed in several athletics events held from June 22-26 at the Oleai Sports Complex track and field oval.
The number of participants is more than last year’s Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games 2022, said Northern Marianas Athletics General Secretary and Oceania Athletics President Robin Sapong.
“The Oceania Masters Championships also has the largest entry from countries [and territories] around Oceania,” including from Micronesian that were competing for the first time, he added.
On behalf of the CNMI and NMA, Sapong thanked Oceania Athletics and all the participating countries and territories.
“Thank you for giving us the opportunity to showcase some of the talents around the Pacific,” he said. “We look forward to seeing them in the world championships.”
He added, “I promise you, at Paris 2024, I will award the gold medalist from our region. We hope to have you back in 10 years. My challenge is to host the Oceania Championships 10 years from now.”
In the recently concluded Oceania Cup, Melanesia topped the team standings with 273 points, followed by Polynesia 196; Australia, 190; Micronesia, 163; and the Northern Marianas, 138.
Team Melanesia consisted of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Norfolk Island.
Team Polynesia comprised American Samoa, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu while Team Micronesia was composed of the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Palau.
