Napu’s women paddlers take a breather after placing first in the V6 500m event of the 24th Micronesian Cup at Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan Beach on Saturday.
Maneran Galaide open men’s team finished first in the V6 500m event of the 24th Micronesian Cup at Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan Beach on Saturday.
GUAM gave the rest of the competition a run for their money on day 2 of the 24th Micronesian Cup, winning gold in the V6 500m men’s and women’s divisions at Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan beach on Saturday.
In the women’s division of the V6 500m finals race, Guam’s Napu gained the lead down the final stretch to edge the CNMI’s Marianas Outrigger Club with a time of 2:34.93.
In an interview, Napu team captain Kia Quichocho praised her team’s performance. “I feel like we did everything the way that we knew. We put our training to work and honestly, like coming out of it, it felt like we could have even done better, so it’s good to feel like that because at least we know that even with our best, it could have been even better.”
During the final few meters of the race, Napu was in third, but they managed to push through and clinch first place.
Quichocho said she did not know how close they already were as they made their way toward the finish line as she was more focused on conserving her team’s energy.
“But then when I saw the end flag, I got in the zone and, with our coach not able to be here with us, I said ‘let’s do it for coach ladies,’ and just felt the boat move,” she said.
Marianas Outrigger Club, which settled for the silver medal, clocked 2:35.36 while Guam’s Taotao Galaide earned the bronze at 2:35.78.
Men’s division
Guam also won gold in the men’s division of the V6 500m race with Maneran Galaide clocking 2:05.82.
“I want to say it’s kind of a dream come true,” said team captain Aiden Artero. “We’ve got a really friendly rivalry with [the Marianas Outrigger Club or] MOC. We’ve been losing to them for three years straight. We’re good…friends and we have huge respect for them. I feel like we’ve been chasing them the whole time so it’s a really great feeling to be able to hang with them now. But at the end of the day, it’s just about bringing the [entire] Marianas up, so we could go to Polynesia together and take their medals,” Artero added.
He said the competition was tough. “I’m always scared of what they’re gonna bring out. We just knew that we had to keep around them all day, but the competition this year is very tough. The Marshall Islands — they’re very, very tough, and this is their first time here…. If they were here last year, they would have creamed us.”
Artero loves the course conditions of Saipan compared to Guam’s waters, which he said are mostly filed with rocks.
“Saipan is so much better for paddling actually. Like the geography with the way of the land and ocean — I’m kind of jealous. I have to visit more,” he added.
Artero at the same time recognized his crew. “It takes a lot of dedication and saying no and sacrificing the things that we like to get together and practice as much as we had to, but they kind of become like a found family and we’re only there for each other. And like we got this water off of each other. Raising the money, doing the training, coming together when it was hard — it wasn’t easy,” he said as he also thanked the organizers for their efficiency.
Maneran Galaide bagged another gold medal in the open mixed division of the V6 500m event with a time of 2:20.65 while MOC settled for silver at 2:26.06. Guam’s Animun Tasi Metgot took the bronze at 2:26.09.
Other races
MOC claimed the gold in the masters men’s division with a time of 2:24.75 while Bihun Tasi of Guam earned silver at 2:27.76.
The CNMI’s Marianas Pacific Paddlers claimed gold in the masters mixed division with a time of 2:41.20 with Bihun Tasi coming in second at 2:51.98.
Saipan Paddling Club, for its part, claimed gold in the junior women’s division (2:35.28), the junior men’s division (2:15.45), and the junior mixed division (2:22.02).
