Bittersweet XTERRA experience for King

Tinian had two representatives to the 8th Annual XTERRA Saipan Championship in Joshua Manglona and Janet King. Unfortunately, only Manglona finished the race, as King played Good Samaritan to Quincy Johnson. Minutes after completing the swim leg, King loaned her bike to Johnson, who had the chain of his bike broken somewhere in Navy Hill.

“It was due to heavy pedaling, as I was going uphill. When I stopped and checked on it, I saw Janet moving closer and then she stopped, too,” Johnson said.

“I entered the XTERRA Sport and he was in the XTERRA Championship course, so I thought to myself, this person needed the bike more than I do,” said King, who joined XTERRA Saipan for the first time.

Johnson rode King’s bike and he went on to finish the race in four hours, 23 minutes, and 37 seconds. He topped the 20-24 age group and earned a ticket to the XTERRA World Championship in Maui, Hawaii.

What happened to King?

She took the same bike route, but this time she carried the bike, instead of riding it.

After more than three hours in the thick jungle and coral roads alone, King reached the connecting road to Mt. Tapochao and help came, bringing her back to the American Memorial Park. During the three-hour adventure, she got hungry, foraged for food, and settled for mangoes and mansanitas growing wild.

Asked why she just didn’t leave the bike in Navy Hill or quit early, instead of dragging herself through an exhausting trek and injuring her left leg, King said she still wanted to experience and enjoy the challenging bike route.

“Although it was hard carrying/walking the bike, I still had fun discovering the bike route,” she said.

When King returned to AMP, she saw Johnson crossing the finish line and winning the race in his age group.

Johnson thanked King for her kindness, saying he would have had the same fate he had in XTERRA Saipan, three or four years ago, if not for her good gesture.

“I did not finish the race, three or four years ago, as the bike chain broke, too. I thought it will happen, again last Saturday, but Janet came out of nowhere and saved me,” Johnson said.

“I owe my XTERRA (age group) victory to her,” he added.

King was happy that Johnson finished the race this time. But she felt sad for Manglona, who lost his ticket to Maui, after placing second to Johnson.

Manglona, also an XTERRA first-timer, was behind by only 17 minutes against Johnson after clocking in at 4:40:54.

A known swimmer, Johnson finished more than eight minutes ahead of Manglona in the 1-kilometer swim leg with the former posting 22:35 against the latter’s 30:39. In the 30-km bike race, Johnson timed in at 2:24:49, while Manglona submitted 2:31:19. The run part was a close fight with Johnson timing in at 1:36:13 and Manglona logging 1:38:56.

Later in the night, Manglona expressed his admiration of King for helping Johnson.

“I am proud of her, for having a heart to help someone in need,” Manglona said.

King also had good words for Manglona and Johnson and believed her fellow Tinian triathlete will have a better showing next year.

“They [Johnson and Manglona] are super athletes and they came in very close,” said King.

Asked if she regrets helping Johnson, King said immediately, “No.”

“They both challenged each other fairly and I am confident Joshua will be back next year better, stronger, and faster,” she said. “So will I.”