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Tinian’s Manglona is driven to succeed
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Posted on Apr 24 2009
[B]TINIAN[/B]—Tinian triathlete Joshua A. Manglona completed the 8th XTERRA Saipan Championship last Saturday, and is preparing for this morning’s 20th staging of the Tagaman Triathlon.
Since his first triathlon in June 2008, nearly one year ago, Manglona, 21, has launched onto the amateur athlete scene with gusto. He competed in a second triathlon in Rota in November, improving his time.And after the Saipan Marathon in January 2009, the local XTERRA race was a natural choice for Manglona.
But the grueling course proved to be a major challenge. Manglona finished second in the 20-24 age division, completing the crown jewel of the XTERRA Global Tour in four hours and 40 minutes. The first place spot in the 20-24 age division went to Quincy Johnson, who timed in at four hours and 23 minutes.
Manglona said the whole XTERRA Saipan experience was equal parts pain and fun.
“I loved XTERRA. It was a really, really hard challenge. I had a lot of fun. The best parts were probably crashing four times on the bike route. Those four crashes were pretty brutal. I remember losing control of my bike and flying off my bike. Basically I remember flipping and hitting the ground so hard. But these showed me that I can endure the extreme course of the bike trail. There were cuts and bruises, but I wanted to put my mind to the race first and later attend to my scars,” he said.
A self-confessed adrenalin junkie, Manglona took part in his first triathlon because he was curious how his body would do in a long event.
“I knew about Ironman, and I was inspired by the stories of dedication, motivation, and time put into training, how those things paid off when they crossed the finish line. Just like they say in Ironman, ‘You swim 2 miles, you bike 124 miles, and you run 26 miles, and brag for the rest of your life.’ It doesn’t mean to show off. It means you worked hard to earn the title of being a triathlete,” he said.
Manglona is set to compete in today’s 20th Tagaman Triathlon, but this early the up-and-coming triathlete is already setting his sights for the Tinian Triathlon.
“I am looking forward to the June 2009 Tinian Triathlon. It will be my first anniversary, because that’s the first triathlon I did. I want to bring home the gold. For the long run, I want to continue with XTERRA. I also want to compete in Ironman. I want to travel the world doing triathlons,” he said. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]
