Taro true in Rota Blue

Taro Shirato returned to the CNMI in style last week as the Japanese Jaguar out-swam, out-biked, and out-ran the competition to take the tape in the 13th Annual Rota Blue Triathlon.

Shirato has raced Rota for several years and used his knowledge of what many call the most beautiful Olympic-distance course to top the 69-member field of racer with an impressive time of 2:14:23.

The champion got off to a good start in the water as he completed the 1.5-kilometer open ocean swim ahead of the pack at the 21:30 mark before transitioning for the hilly 40-km road bike course.

Through challenging climbs and rapid descents, Shirato maintained his lead over the competition with the fastest time atop his two-wheeled steed at 1:07:11 before kicking off his bike shoes for the grueling 10-km run course.

With the sun shining down on the pavement and a solid lead on the competition, Shirato continued to push himself and turned in the morning’s second-fastest run time when he reached the finish line at the Rota Roundhouse 45:42 after he started.

Ten minutes later Japan’s Naoto Kimura enjoyed the same feeling of relief when he joined Shirato at the finish line at the 2:24:59 mark to take second place and Guam’s Russ Cutting spoiled hopes of an All-Nippon medal stand by blazing a trail for third place at 2:29:23.

Cutting was the fastest among the eight triathletes who made the trip from Guam, and Tinian’s Ken Halliday was the swiftest from the CNMI. Halliday finished sixth overall with a stellar time of 2:41:31 during his first time challenging the course while Saipan’s top finisher in the Olympic-distance was veteran racer Joshua Berger, who reached the beach a shade over the three-hour mark at 3:00:15.

There have been more participants from CNMI in the past, but scheduling complications and the lack of seats on the local air carriers kept between 20-30 homegrown competitors at home.

Guam’s Sarah Webb made the trip across the water to top the strong field of females with time of 2:46:02 that was good enough for ninth overall. Webb turned in a solid swim when she returned to the shoreline 37:42 after taking the plunge and her 1:14:13 on the bike was only seven minutes behind the men’s champion. Her 54:07 on the 10km run brought Webb to the finish line seconds ahead of Japan’s Saori Tanaka, who took second place at 2:46:47, while former Saipan resident Maggie Greenwood finished third among the females at 3:06:39

A pair of special racers also participated in the event as Kensuyo and son Shoki Sakano completed their unofficial Tour de CNMI by completing the Rota Blue Triathlon at 4:29:29 and 4:30:00, respectively. Finishing every race is an accomplishment for the younger Sakano, the despite having Downe’s Syndrome, Shoki completed the Olympic-distance race more than an hour faster than he finished the Tinian Turquoise Triathlon in February 2005.