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Ngirchongor makes AP story at World Champs
While the likes of Usain Bolt continue to dominate the headlines in the ongoing 15th IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, the CNMI’s Beouch Ngirchongor managed to get his brief moment on the spotlight.
The CNMI’s Beo Ngirchongor is seen here from a screen grab during his interview with one of the reporters covering the 15th IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China. (www. iaaf.org)
Ngirchongor was one of the three Pacific athletes featured in an Associated Press story on the World Championships, entitled “For Pacific athletes, getting to worlds is what matters most” and appeared at Yahoo Sports.
Ngirchongor told AP reporter Justin Bergman how happy he was to set a personal best time in the 200m run (23.93 seconds) as his hard work paid off. The CNMI runner added in an interview with the AP reporter how he woke up early morning to train before going to work to prepare for the World Championships. He also said ever since he started running, his goal is to compete in the world stage.
“It was a dream to me,” Ngirchongor was quoted as saying in the AP story. “When I was in middle school, I keep thinking how I’m going to make it to the worlds, then I just turned 21 in May, and I made it here. It was an honor.’’
The sprinter also treasured the experience of racing in the same track where Bolt also ran. The reigning Olympic champion in the 100m and 200m event joined Heat 3 of the qualifying race for the 200m run, while Ngirchongor competed on Heat 2 at the Bird’s Nest Stadium, the same venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
‘’It feels awesome,’’ Ngirchongor said in an interview after the race. “It’s motivation because back home it’s only me running. I was so amazed. I was like, ‘should I meet him? Maybe after the competition.’”
Besides Ngirchongor, other Pacific athletes interviewed for the AP story were Fiji long jumper Waisale Dausoko and Samoa sprinter Jeremy Dodson.
Meanwhile, Ngirchongor, in a separate message sent to Saipan Tribune thanked his family and coaches for making his dream possible.
“I would not make it here if not for them. I know they are excited for me for this accomplishment. I am proud and honored to represent our islands and get a PB,” he said. “I will never stop and continue training for future competitions.”
