Jesus Iguel left the island on Saturday to start his voyage to Bydgoszcz, Poland to participate in the 12th IAAF World Junior Championships from July 8 to 11, while Yvonne Bennett, according to his father, Ambrose has been invited to attend another tournament in Monaco, France.
Northern Marianas Athletics’s Robin Sapong Eugenio has yet to confirm the information about Bennett’s overseas tournament, but he was positive that Iguel is already on his way to Bydgoszcz.
Eugenio said Iguel who represent CNMI for the first in the said tournament will have a long travel. The NMI athlete he said has flown to Guam where he would take another flight to South Korea, then he will fly again to Paris before he travel to Poland.
Iguel who finished the 100 meter run in 11.82 seconds during the 2008 Oceania Grand Prix Series and ran 11.91 and 11.92 seconds in two rounds of Oceania Championship.
Bennett also had exemplary performances in the 100 meters, 200 and 400 meter races. She ran 12.99 seconds, breaking her own records in the 100 meters.
On the first day of the World Junior Championship, Iguel is expected to compete in Discus Throw, Shot Put, kong jump, 800 meters, 1500 meters and 100 meter runs.
Sapong in an interview said it is a great honor for the CNMI to have an athletes competing in the world sports event.
Iguel, he said has been working too hard for the past few months so he deserves to be selected to the higher level of competition.
Aside from Iguel the other Pacific Island athletes who are heading to Poland are Isoa Me of Fiji, Douglas Schmidt of Palau, Shirley Vunatup of Papua New Guinea, Margaret Satupai of Samoa, Emile Nisap of Vanuatu, Kenneth Karosich of Guam, Dayne O’Hara of Norfolk Island, Thomas Slowinski of French Polynesia, Adison Alfred of Solomon Islands, Dana Thoma of Nauru, Paseka Fangupo of Tonga, and Jeffrey Tago of American Samoa.
