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Tania breaks CNMI 3,000m record
Tania Tan reset the 3,000m CNMI record and placed second in the event during the Oceania Cup last June 24 at the Oleai Sports Complex.(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Long distance runner Tania Tan broke her CNMI 3,000m record during the Oceania Cup last June 24 at the Oleai Sports Complex.
She broke her previous record of 10:58.76 and set the new standards by shaving off more than five seconds at 10:53.08.
Tan last set the record in March 2022 in the Stony Brook Snow Flake Classic when she was a junior in college.
The new college graduate from Fordham University flew back home after her graduation just in time for the Oceania Cup and ran in the 3,000m and 1,500m races.
Tan not only broke the record but placed a close second to Australia’s Leyla Liakatos who finished with a time of 10:43.89; third place was Polynesia’s Amandine Matera at 11:12.57; Melanesia’s Mary Tenge was fourth at 11:12.97; fifth was Micronesia’s Keira Paz at 12:20.22; and sixth was the CNMI’s Tiana Cabrera with 13:18.08.
Tania Tan, far left, poses with some of her teammates in the CNMI atheltics’ track team during the Oceania Cup at the Oleai Sports Complex last June 24. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
In the 1,500m race, Tan placed fifth with a time of 5:07.31. First place went to Australia’s Lily Mather with 4:42.10; Australia’s Nyree Hamilton was second at 4:42.47; Melanesia’s Scholastica Herman was third at 4:52.47; fourth was Polynesia’s Amandine Matera at 5:03.71; Melanesia’s Mary Tenge was sixth with 5:13.05.
The 22-year-old, who just celebrated her birthday recently, initially said she didn’t break her record in a previous interview, she was told later that she actually did break it.
When she was interviewed again about it, Tan said, “I actually didn’t even know I broke it until Robin [Sapong] told me the next day [after the race]. I went into the race just wanting to do my best, and somehow I also managed to break the outdoor 3K record.”
She added, “Hopefully I can continue to progress, PR, and get faster.”
Tan also holds the outdoor record time in the 5,000m run which she reset last April 2022 in the Colonial Relays at 18:51.02 and holds the outdoor 10,000m record which she also reset last April 2022 in the Metropolitan Championships during her time at Fordham University.
