Prestley expects strong field in Pacific Games

With Australia and New Zealand joining next month’s XV Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea, the CNMI’s Peter Prestley is anticipating a tough field in the triathlon competition.

Peter Prestley negotiates the uphill road near the former Nikko Hotel during this year’s Tagaman Triathlon. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Prestley leads the Commonwealth’s three-man triathlon squad in the Pacific Games, which will run from July 4 to 18. Brad Ruszala and Tony Stearns will join him in the triathlon tournament that will be held on July 5 in Konedobu, Port Moresby. Prestley will be representing the CNMI in a regional tournament for the second time after suiting for the island during the Pacific Islands Triathlon Championship in Guam last year.

“I came in second in the Pacific Islands Triathlon Championship last year, but that was an Olympic distance event and I only competed against Guam, Fiji, American Samoa, and Papua New Guinea. This (Pacific Games) will be a much larger field with 24 countries participating, so there will be more athletes, including athletes from Australia that I expect to be very strong. It’s going to be a lot of fun, though. I can’t wait,” Prestley said.

The triathlon event in PNG will cover a distance of 750m in the swim leg, 20K in the bike race, and 5K in the run. It is a shot course, which Prestley wanted to experience.

“I prefer longer half-iron distance races which are more about endurance than sprinting, but I’m looking forward to the experience,” said Prestley, who has been training for the tournament for the last couple of months.

“My training is going okay although, as usual, I wish I had more time. I started a private law practice this year, so I’ve been pretty busy. In the last couple of months, I’ve been trying to keep my training consistent and include some high intensity intervals which are important for such a short race,” he said.

The XTERRA Saipan veteran added that having a good start is crucial in a short course event.

“It’s a sprint distance event and will also be a draft legal race with four loops around the bike course. With 24 countries participating in the Games, I expect it to be a really crowded, fast, and aggressive race. It will be important to get a good time in the swim to make it into one of the lead packs of bikers. There’s not a lot of opportunity to make up for lost time on the run, so I imagine it will be pretty neck and neck on the bike,” the lawyer said.

Meanwhile, Ruszala picked Prestley as the favorite among the three CNMI bets to place in the Games.

“Peter is our favorite to place,” said Ruszala, who will be representing the Commonwealth in the triathlon event for the first time and is trying to get back into his competitive form.

“I was completely sidelined with a back injury earlier this year. I couldn’t walk before so it’s a chance for me to refocus. I’ve been doing physical therapy since February and trying to get my body back into the groove. It’s all about nutrition and fighting through the recovery process for me,” Ruszala said.