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3 Saipan female triathletes complete XTERRA
Female triathletes held their own in the male-dominated XTERRA Saipan Championship, as eight survived the treacherous race last Saturday.
Kaitlin Mattos of Saipan negotiates the jungle leg of last Saturday’s XTERRA Saipan Championship. Mattos earned a spot in the World Championships in Maui, Hawaii after recording a 4:33:00 finish in her age division.
(Jon Perez)
Three Saipan bets were among the female participants who braved the rain-soaked course and managed to finish the 1.5-kilometer swim, 30K bike, and 12K trail run race.
XTERRA Saipan first-timer Lorie Hutchinson was the island’s top finisher as she completed the dangerous trek in 4:24:33 and won the 50 to 54 age group. She timed in at 26:41 in the two-lap swim leg and was 48th (among 63 swimmers) out of the water. In the bike leg, she clocked in at 2:42:25, which is good for 42nd place, while her 1:15:27 in the run race ranked her at No. 22.
Kimiko McKagan also broke the five-hour mark, as she submitted 4:27:09, just about three minutes behind her 2014 time of 4:24:34. Though she failed to beat hear time last year, McKagan was happy with her performance as she did not crash despite the tough race condition.
“No crash this time and it felt good,” a jubilant McKagan said during the event’s awards ceremony at the Pacific Islands Club last Saturday night.
McKagan was 50th out of the water with her 26:46, 36th both in the bike (2:32:47) and run (1:27:36) legs. She took the top honors in the 45 to 49 division, beating Guam’s Michelle Santos, who logged 6:13:42 with split times of 24:32, 3:31:17, and 2:17:53.
McKagan’s training buddy, Kaity Mattos, also beat the five-hour barrier with her 4:33:00, which was way faster than her XTERRA debut time of 4:49:27 (last year). Mattos was ranked No. 34 in the swim leg (23:35) and 34th in the bike (2:32:52) races, and No. 44 in the run (1:36:33).
Meanwhile, Japan’s Kyoco Urashima was the fastest non-pro female participant in last weekend’s race and the only one in her field to complete the race under four hours after recording 3:59:38. She ruled the 35 to 39 age group, downing American Allison Moore (6:14:28). Other finishers were Guam’s Jessika Dayrit (5:20:43) and Blanda Camacho (6:13:41).
This year’s women’s non-pro finishers doubled last season’s count (four).
