‘No way to go but improve’

Veteran sprinters Beouch Ogumoro Ngirchongor and Rachel Dominique Abrams are hoping to achieve their own personal goals when they resume training for future athletics competitions.

Rachel Abrams, right, waits for instructions from athletics coach Elias Rangamar, left, while training recently with Gerald Castillo, second left, and Zarinae Sapong at the Oleai track and field facility. (Jon Perez)

Ngirchongor and Adams were part of the six-member CNMI athletics team that competed in the 2015 Oceania Athletics Association Area Championships early this month at Barlow Park in Cairns, Australia.

Zarinae Sapong, Evan Miller, Gerald Castillo, and Donavin Ada, who won bronze in boys’ javelin throw, were the other Team CNMI members.

Ngirchongor, who won the 400m run and 400m hurdles gold in last year’s Pohnpei Micronesian Games, gave himself a five as his rating for his OAA performance.

“This Australian trip was a big challenge and at the same time a motivation for me to train harder and become smarter, so I could become stronger and quicker in the next competition,” said Ngirchongor.

Ngirchongor, who is now preparing for this year’s Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea, added that he and his coaches would focus more with his endurance, speed, and power to further improve his performance in the hurdles.

He submitted a time of 62.05 in the preliminary round of the 400m hurdles to clinch a finals spot where he finished eighth overall (62.72). He failed to qualify in the 400m run finals after ending up 10th (54.55).

“Running against the top runners across the Pacific was tiring but fun. The competition level in the OAA is much tougher than the Micro Games. It is one of the biggest challenges that I’ve been into in my second year in the Oceania games,” he said.

For Abrams, she still has a long way to go before she can reach the same level of some of the athletes that competed in the OAA championships.

“I did alright. I went out there and did my best. But I hope to get better and continue to set new personal goals,” said Abrams, who bagged three gold medals in last year’s Pohnpei Micro Games.

She equaled her record-breaking time in the women’s 200m run in the OAA championship when she clocked 26.29 seconds in the preliminaries. Her time was good only for 12th place.

Her time of 26.29 broke the record of former Team CNMI sprinter Yvonne Bennett (26.41, 2010 in Palau) in the 200m run event last year. She also finished 12th in the qualifying round of the women’s 100m sprint with 12.71 seconds.

Despite all of this, Abrams added that competing against the best in the region motivated her to train harder so she could perform better. “You compete against people who have been training for so much longer than you and athletes who have been training more intensely.”

“That motivated me to push myself. I still have a long way to go, but I know I can keep getting better. It will take a lot of time and effort to reach my goals,” added Abrams, who will not compete in the Pacific Games set this July in Port Moresby.