THE medal count continues to grow for Team NMI as Orrin Pharmin, Tania Tan and Tiana Cabrera each won a medal Thursday at the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships in Mackay, Australia.
The NMI now has five medals in the competition.
Tania Tan, who won the gold in the Women’s 10,000m Run Senior on Tuesday, received the silver in the Women’s 5000m Senior event.
Paige E. Campbell of Australia crossed the finish line first with a time of 16:07.56 while Audrey Hall (18:26.97) and Penelope Townshend (18:37.67) of Regional Australia came in second and third followed by the NMI’s Tania Tan who clocked 19:31.01.
However, because Hall and Townshend are with the Regional Australian Team, they are not counted in the Oceania placement. Tania Tan officially placed second.
“I’m pretty happy with [the results] especially since I raced the 10k less than 48 hours ago,” she said. “I wasn’t even close to my personal record, but still happy overall.”
Two more medals
Winning two more medals for Team NMI was Orrin Pharmin.
He topped the Men’s 110m Hurdles Masters and bagged the silver medal in the Men’s 60m Masters.
“I was still somewhat cold due to the cold morning weather for my 60m,” he said. “I didn’t take off the starting blocks as fast as I would like to, but I picked it up towards the end of the sprint race to secure the silver for the NMI.”
As for the 110m hurdles, “I felt warmer and felt good running over the hurdles and glad I secured gold in this event for the NMI. I’m happy I got medals for the NMI today and hoping I can get more tomorrow and the day after as well.”
Providing the NMI’s fifth medal was Tiana Cabrera who received the bronze in the Women’s 3000m U18 event.
Taking first place was Ella Rodwell of Australia with a time of 09:56.76 followed by Sharnti Woodham of Regional Australia, 10:52.96, and Jordan Baden of Guam, 11:03.09.
Tiana Cabrera finished fourth with a time of 13:23.29.
But because Sharnti Woodham is with the Regional Australian Team, she was not counted in the placement. This moved Cabrera up to third for the bronze medal.
“Overall, I feel relieved and happy I got a medal to take home and I’m satisfied with my race and meeting everyone from different places was a great experience. This race taught me to push myself more and learn from my mistakes!” said Cabrera.
NMI points
Tania Tan’s gold and silver medals earned her 18 points while Tiana Cabrera has garnered 7 points.
Mike Mancao, for his part, earned 7 points for his two events while Lia Rangamar earned 4 points to give the NMI a total of 36 points.
Zari Sapong’s performance in the 100m event earned her a place as an alternate in the finals, but this did not add any points to Team NMI.
Pharmin’s points do not count for the NMI since he is participating as a 35-40-year-old master’s athlete.
Master’s athletes are individual entrants and are not considered by the Oceania Athletics Championships as part of the teams for quota or scoring purposes.
Team NMI Coach Dr. Ron Snyder said he is “extremely proud” of the NMI athletes’ achievements, “and I look forward to seeing amazing performances in the Mini Games.”
He added, “I was hoping for a single medal in the team so earning five is laudable! And 36 points is great for future NMI competitions. Orrin’s medals are icing on the cake and I expect he will earn more medals in the days to come. This is a great group of athletes, wonderful travel partners and excellent ambassadors of the NMI. I couldn’t be happier with their progress, their team spirit, or their company!”
“Beyond our team,” Snyder said, “we have met some incredible people from the islands and from Australia and New Zealand. The championship was top notch and had so much to offer — from the medal designs to the workshops to the professionalism of the officials and the incredible staff” of the Oceania Athletics Association.
Orrin Pharmin poses with the gold medal he won Thursday at the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships in Mackay, Australia.
Tiana Cabrera, right, who won the bronze medal, poses with the other medalists Thursday at the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships in Mackay, Australia.
