“It’s difficult yet challenging. The tide was a little more than I expected but the island is very beautiful,” says Kazue Noguchi, one of the participants from Japan.
Not a stranger to the said sport, Noguchi is among the members of Japan Central Sports who participated in the event which they have done many times back home.
Hosted by the Marianas Visitors Authority, the flipper race allows the use of snorkeling gaggles and flippers to swim in any strokes the 1.5 kilometer circumference around Managaha.
Rezne Wong, one of Saipan’s top swimmers who led his team to first place during the recently-held Tagaman Triathlon 2009 was in a winning shape again as he led the swim up to several meters from the start line.
The 18-year old ace swimmer who had just finished high school in Marianas High School was not spared by jelly fish attack. He got stung half to the finish line which slowed him down.
That was the instance when 16-year-old Grace Christian Academy swimmer, Shin Kimura and Japan’s Yusuke Kaneko caught on him.
Wong tried to endure the sting of jelly fish in his face as he kept looking at two swimmers who both pulled about five meters ahead of him.
“When I saw the sunny part of the island I kicked it harder then caught on Shin first then, Yusuke,” Wong recounts.
Wong did not look back leaving behind Shin and Yusuke who were also got stung by jelly fish.
Wong finished the race in 19.32 minutes and Kimura was just seven seconds behind followed by Kaneko who was a second behind him.
Among 24 female swimmers, 10-year-old Angel Marie Tan was just 33 second behind first placer, 31-year-old Sachiko Zusuki of Japan.
Like everybody else, Tan also got stung by jelly fish in both side of her face but was able to maintain the speed.
Zusuki finished the swim in 24.04 minutes to win the first place and Tan, second place with 24.37 minutes.
Also making it to the tip three in males is Kensuke Kimura who reached the finish line at 19.41st minute.
In female, Keiko Ikewa was over a minute behind Tan to settle for third place.
