Kiwis proud of Saipan showing

The manager and coach of the triumphant New Zealand under-18 team to the 2008 Oceania Championships held here on Saipan were proud of their kids’ showing and were impressed on how the competition was organized.

Coach Ed Fern said his athletes performed well in the competition and even said that some of them may have the potential to represent New Zealand in the Olympics in the future.

“We are very proud of our team. For a group of U18s to come out of their winter and deal with those temperatures is one of the accomplishments we are happy with. We think there is a lot of potential in the athletes we had on Saipan. In a few years there could be some Olympic athletes coming out of that group,” he said.

Of his athletes, the one that stood out the most, according to him was Alex Jordan in the 100m and 200m.

“He does most of his competing on a grass track in Nelson. He had two personal bests and won two gold medals and anchored the 4×100 relay, so he more than made up for the warm temperatures, and he made the most of the opportunity to run on a great surface.”

Fern said, overall he was very impressed with the entire Championships. He said that the accommodations at the Aquarius Beach Tower Hotel was very good, the food was excellent, and the opening and closing nights were great.

“They will be stored in my track and field memory banks for the rest of my life.”

Manager Joan Merrilees seconded Fern’s assessment about the local organizing committee when she said: “The Championships were very well organized, the accommodations and food were awesome, and the local people were very warm and welcoming and Saipan is a place that everyone in our team would like to visit again. We loved the island!”

She said the keys to the team winning the overall medal tally was that their athletes were focused on their competition and they prepared well prior to arriving on Saipan.

“They did not appear to let the competition get to them at all and adjusted their warm-up to suit the hotter conditions,” she said. “The whole team competed superbly and we had six PBs (personal bests), which is just amazing when you consider that the last time any of these athletes had any track competition was in March.”

Merrilees said Saipan’s tropical climate was much hotter and much more humid than the athletes were used to.

Add to that, the Kiwi contingent had just come from the middle of their winter season, which meant that Merrilees and Fern had to keep reminding their athletes to take on board a lot of water and just to keep drinking.

“The fact that we had the opportunity to compete in the 2008 Oceania Grand Prix gave the athletes an excellent opportunity to compete and see how they coped with both the heat and the level of competition. It got rid of a lot of nerves,” she said.

New Zealand’s under-18 team topped the medal standings of the 2008 Oceania Championships, hauling 17 gold, 10 silver, and six bronze medals back to their home country.

The 2008 Oceania Championships was held at the Oleai Track and Field from July 26 to 28. The Cross Country event was held at the Laolao Bay Golf Resort on July 25.