Eric Abragan, Lydia Tan, Yulia Aleksenko, Isaiah Aleksenko, Janet King, Marshall Hoskins, Ricky Castro, Ambet Omampo, Manny Sitchon, Nap Dizon, Ronald Villafria, Brad Ruszala and Cathy Ruszala started the swim portion at 6 a.m. from Guma Sakman to Oleai Beach and back.
They then transitioned to biking from the Pacific Islands Club to the former Mariana Resort and back. This was followed by a 10K run from Guma Sakman to Bank of Guam and back.
- For the morning swim, Brad Ruszala clocked in at 00:25:09. For the bike leg, he finished at 01:39:02 and completed his run at 01:54:37 for a total time of 03:58:48.
- Eric Abragan completed the swim portion at 00:22:57; the bike ride, 01:37:03; and the 10K run time, 01:31:30.
- Isaiah Aleksenko clocked in 00:15:30/01:34:00/01:04:00
- Janet King finished at 00:39:00/01:35:00/01:21:00.
- Manny Sitchon clocked up 00:49:59/01:21:00/01:27:00
- Ricky Castro’s completion time was 06:26:00 while Ronald Villafria’s was 04:16:00.
- For his part, Ambet Omampo clocked in 09:12:00.
The rest of the participants’ times have yet to be posted online.
CNMI triathletes pose together before taking on the Guam National Virtual Triathlon challenge on Saturday. Contributed photo
Eric Abragan smiles after completing the swim portion of the Guam National Virtual Triathlon on Saturday. Contributed photo
After the event, the CNMI athletes ended the day with a sunset dinner celebration.
Said Eric Abragan: “We offer our thanksgiving tribute to Coaches Pete and Emma from Dolphin Swim Club Saipan for being a great inspiration to many of us when we were still learning to swim, and for having a vision to have an adult swimming community in Saipan. They gave us the opportunity to swim weekdays at 6 a.m. They were a great catalyst to us! Most of us couldn’t have done our first triathlon without their hard work and dedication.”
Abragan said they are also grateful to Charles Tiger Lee who opens the Guma Sakman facility every morning before 6 a.m. “for us to have access [to] coffee, water, outdoor shower and restroom. He had been practicing his run and swim daily. But when we did our bike route practice, he injured himself and was not able to participate in the triathlon.”
Abragan said they are likewise thankful to Yulia Aleksenko.
“When most of us kinda stopped swimming way before the pandemic, Yulia encouraged some groups of swimmers and called it the ‘Never Give Up’ group. And so now, this is where we are, thankful to God…. Let’s have 20/20 vision and finish 2020 well!”
