Yvonne gets early graduation gift

Micronesia’s sprint queen Yvonne Bennett received an early graduation gift last week after winning the 2008 NMASA Athlete of the Year award.

“I will be graduating in June and getting recognition from NMASA last week is a great gift for my graduation,” Bennett said in telephone interview with Saipan Tribune.

Bennett was named top female athlete of 2008 for her record-breaking performances in sprint races in local and regional tournaments.

In May during the McDonald’s All Schools meet, the Kagman High School student clocked in at 13.04 seconds in the 100m race to set a CNMI national record and posted 26.94 in the 200m run to record another national mark.

Bennett’s third record-setting run was in the 400m race, where she timed in at 1:03.50, also during the All Schools meet.

In June, Bennett was named Fastest Woman in Micronesia after timing in at 12.99 seconds in the 100m sprint finals in the 2008 Oceania Area Championships. In the same tournament, she also reset the CNMI records in 400m (1:01.83) and 200m (26.65 seconds).

She held her ground against seasoned sprinters, who have been to top-caliber races outside Oceania.

“I was not intimidated by those runners fasters than me, as I was not racing against them. I was racing against myself, racing against the clock,” she said.

Bennett managed to make all these record-breaking performances after getting involved with athletics for only two years.

“It’s was great to have these achievements in such a short time. I owe it to my coaches (Elias Rangamar and Robin Sapong) for training me and having patience to teach me techniques in sprint races,” Bennett said.

Yvonne also thanked her twin sister, Yvette, who was the first one to try running the track, challenging the former to get involved with sprint races, too.

“My first sport was basketball. But when Yvette started running, we have this sort of competition among siblings, as she challenged me to beat her. The rest is history,” Yvonne said.

After graduation this June, Yvonne is hoping to continue her study either at the Kapi’olani Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii or at the University of Guam.

“Hopefully, I can also run for a college team. I want to go to either Hawaii or Guam so I can be closer to home and continue to represent the CNMI in various competitions,” Yvonne said.

Yvonne admitted it will require more hard work to be selected for a college team, so she will continue training here, while preparing for her next journey.

“I need to work more on my strength, the power off the blocks,” Yvonne added.