By Robert Balajadia

The 2014 Pacific Islands Triathlon concluded its eventful weekend Sunday morning as two waves of event participants stormed through Merizo in swimming, biking, and running stretches.

The early morning event was full of surprise endings, especially to the ears of first place finisher Shin Miyagi (2:19:23) who wasn’t even sure if he was going to race at all.

“I wasn’t feeling good today and wasn’t going to race, but because of God’s grace I was able to race,” said Miyagi.

To Miyagi’s surprise, the two competitors ahead of him in John Wilde and Charlie Epperson did not finish the race allowing Miyagi to finish atop, the first ever first place triathlon finish on Guam.

“It feels great to finish first here on Guam. I didn’t realize I was in the lead until I finished the event,” admitted Miyagi. “The toughest portion was the bike. I didn’t bring two bottles so I was finished my first bottle after my first lap so I was so dehydrated and didn’t have energy, I was just spinning.”

Wilde had a big lead throughout the event being the first swimmer and biker to check in but missing the turnaround point in the 10K portion of the race while over shooting it by nearly mile did Wilde in.

Community First’s pro-athlete Epperson and Mieko Carey was fresh off coming back from competing in a national event just four days ago and opted not to partake in the second lap of the 10K.

The women’s division came to no surprise at all with veteran super athlete Meiko Carey finishing just seconds behind Miyagi nearly becoming the first overall to finish at (2:20:27).

“Charlie and I were worried about how we would recover from changing time,” said Carey on her and Epperson just coming back to Guam. “I was really tired and it was a little bit hot so I focused on avoiding dehydration. I was very happy to see so many Guam people joining the event and the whole course we could see each other and motivate each other so today was really great.”

Guahan Solider Top Overall Finisher Shin Miyagi.

Guahan Soldier Top Female Finisher Mieko Carey.

The Sprint Series, just half the course, featured an exciting finish between some of Guam’s future triathlon stars.

16-year-old Champ Quinata was not the first swimmer out of the water nor was he the first to hit the 5k, but he was the first official event finisher by a large margin with a solid unofficial time of (1:12:16) followed by a finisher from Papua New Guinea and Guam’s Tommy Imazu to wrap up the top three male finishers in the Sprint Series.

Topping the female finishers was another 16-year-old star in the making in Genina Criss (1:31:22), who sprinted past a competitor from the CNMI to finish the event. Criss used strong bike and 5K times to overtake a female competitor from Papa New Guinea who had beat her in the swimming portion.

The star-studded relay team of Olympic swimmer Chris Duenas, veteran biker Peter Lombard, and Olympic runner Derek Mandell were the first team to finish (2:23:27) despite starting the event over 20 minutes late to the race.

Despite the slow start, the team still got the first place finish with Duenas and Lombard quickly wrapping up their portions to allow Mandell to shoot past everyone in the 10k to finish strong.

The relay team of Chris Duenas, Peter Lombard, and Derek Mandell finished first despite a 20-minute late start. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

(complete results will be posted when available)

PHOTO GALLERY:

Guahan Soldier Top Male Sprint Finisher Champ Quinata.

Guahan Soldier Top Female Sprint Finisher Genina Criss.

John Wilde completes the first of two laps in the swimming event. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Chris Duenas quickly gets his gear on and jumps in the water to begin swimming for his relay team 20 minutes into the race. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Derek Mandell crosses the finish line completing as the first relay team. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Guam National Team’s Cameron O’Neal crosses the finish line. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Mieko Carey gives up her traditional hand raise while completing the event. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

First place finisher Shin Miyagi was surprised to be welcomed as the first to complete the event. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Guam’s Dave Torre gets ready for the bike portion of the Triathlon. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Competitors from the CNMI had a strong triathlon outing. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

First female sprint series finisher Genina Criss sprints to the finish passing a male competitor from the CNMI. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

John Wilde leading the way for all triathlon competitors. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Third place finisher in the Sprint series Tommy Imazu in the final stretch of the race. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Peter Lombard races to make up for lost time in the relay. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

First place sprint series finisher Champ Quinata was all alone at the finish line. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Family Affair: Mother Ninette Criss aids her daughter Genina in preparation for the 5k finish. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Some participants weren’t lucky enough to escape jellyfish stings forcing to be treated during the event. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

A racer from Palau gearing up for the bike portion of the race. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

CNMI Sprint Series competitors wrap up the bike portion. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Peter Lombard trying to track down teammate Chris Duenas after Duenas competed the water event. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Josh Tyquiengco gets ready to hit the bike trail. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Legend Joe Taitano saddles up for the bike course. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Philippine relay team moves on to the bike course. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Competitor from Papua New Guinea gets ready to hit the bike course. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Professional athlete Charlie Epperson preps for the bike course. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

First female finisher Mieko Carey enjoying a nice lead before setting out on her bike. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Genina Criss checks in as the second female to begin the bike course. (photo by Robert Balajadia)