Pharmin strikes gold, silver in masters

Orrin Pharmin poses with the CNMI flag and his 110m hurdles gold medal during the event’s awards ceremony in the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships yesterday in Mackay, Australia. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Orrin Pharmin made waves in the masters division of the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships yesterday by winning not one but two medals in Mackay, Australia.

His two-medal haul is part of the CNMI’s four- medal mining spree yesterday as Tania Tan, who gave the CNMI its first gold in the 10-kilometer run earlier this week, and Tiana Cabrera bagged silver and bronze medals in the 5-kilometer run and U18 3,000m run, respectively.

Pharmin, a longtime fixture of the CNMI athletics team, topped the 110m hurdles to give the CNMI its second gold medal of the meet. He earlier earned a silver in the 60m run. Times for both results were not available as of press time.

Tiana Cabrera proudly shows off the CNMI flag after winning a bronze medal in the U18 3,000m run in the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships yesterday in Mackay, Australia.(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Pharmin, who lives in As Lito and is an entrepreneur, said he’s still adjusting to the cold mornings in the Land Down Under.

“I was still somewhat cold due to the cold morning weather for my 60m. I didn’t take off the starting blocks as fast as I would like to, but I picked it up toward the end of the sprint race to secure the silver for the CNMI,” he told Saipan Tribune.

After his second-place stint in the 60m run, Pharmin was more adjusted in his next event, the 110m hurdles, which contributed largely to his gold medal finish.

“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 CNMI. I’m happy I got medals for the CNMI today and hoping I can get more tomorrow and day after as well, because I will still be competing on those days,” he added.

Tania Tan, third from left, settled for a silver medal in the 10-kilometer run of the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships yesterday in Mackay, Austral (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Pharmin said winning a gold and a silver medal in the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships wouldn’t have been possible without his faith.

“I’m managing it one day at a time through God’s blessings and doing what I can do to help our CNMI through athletics. Aside from the God, my son, Darrion Joseph, my families, and my sponsor Latte Built Fitness, I dedicate my 60m run to Tyrone Omar and my 110m hurdles to my coach, Elias Rangamar,” he said, while also thanking Northern Marianas Athletics for sending him to Australia.

Tan settled for a silver in her favorite 5,000m run after crossing the finish line in 19:31.01.

“I didn’t race it smart. My time was way off my personal record. I should’ve gone out faster but it’s okay, each race is a learning lesson!” she told Saipan Tribune.

The Fordham University standout’s PR in the event is 18:50.

Cabrera, for her part, came in third in the U18 3,000m event with a time of 13:23.29. The incoming Saipan International School senior was pretty excited about her podium finish.

“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!”

Aside from the three, Michael Mancao also took part in the 3,000m steeplechase and 800m run yesterday, running a 13:10.23 and 2:22.61, respectively.

“I have mixed emotions about how I did in my two events. For the 3,000m steeplechase, I was happy I did it and I remember why it’s such a gruesome event. Definitely have to do more training on it to drop my times. For the 800m, I held a very steady pace for the first 400m about a 1:03, but coming to the last lap, my body started to get tight toward the last 200m curve. I hope on the next race, the 800m race is the first race I do. Maybe, I could’ve dropped my time lower if that was the case,” he said.

CNMI national athletics coach Dr. Ron Snyder said Team CNMI is chugging along fine following yesterday’s four-medal haul, albeit he said Pharmin’s medals don’t count for the team event since he’s entered in the masters division.

“Today Tania got a silver and Tiana got a bronze. So, Tania has earned 18 points for the team, Tiana has earned seven points and Mike Mancao earned seven points for his two events. Lia [Rangamar] earned four points. That totals 36 points. Zarinae [Sapong] qualified for the 100m but not as a point scorer. Orrin’s points don’t count since he is running as a masters athlete. They are individual entrants and not considered by the Oceania Athletics Association as part of the team for scoring purposes,” he said.

Snyder said Tan’s performance in the 5K was impressive considering the hype surrounding the event.

“The 5,000 draws a large crowd of talented athletes and Tania had to race intelligently to do well. She drafted one runner early on and then made a move around the halfway mark to take the second place position. She will have competition from a U20 athlete in the Mini Games who outkicked her in the end, but I am confident she has a good strategy to beat her next time.”

Sapong finished the 100m with a time of 13.04 and the 200m in 27.64. Rangamar’s longest throw in the javelin, meanwhile, was 30.29m.

Pharmin is at it again today as he will compete in the masters events for the javelin, shotput, 100m, and 400m.