Marceau, Whitmore win PIC Double

Swiss triathlon legend Olivier Marceau and XTERRA great Jamie Whitmore from California won the men's and women's Pacific Islands Club Double awards on a picture perfect day in Saipan this morning.

The PIC Double award is given to the man and woman with the fastest combined XTERRA Saipan and Tagaman triathlon times.

While Marceau dominated - winning both XTERRA and Tagaman with a combined time of 5:27:30, more than 35 minutes ahead of Double runner-up Margus Tamm from Estonia - Whitmore simply persevered.  She was second at XTERRA, trailing winner Renata Bucher by 7:02, and second at Tagaman - 2:10 behind winner Kate Bevilaqua from Australia, but finished 7:29 ahead of Bucher at Tagaman today for a combined time of 6:09:17 (27-seconds faster).  Tagaman winner Bevilaqua - who was racing in her first-ever event as a professional (she finished third in her age group at Ironman Worlds last year) did not race XTERRA thus was not eligible for the Double award.

It's the third straight year Marceau - a two-time Olympian and XTERRA European Tour Champion - has come to the exquisite Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and won both races and the Double.  It's Whitmore's second double - having also won the inaugural PIC award in 2004 (Bucher won last year).  Whitmore - the all-time winningest XTERRA athlete with 26 victories in the last five years - won the first three XTERRA Saipan Championships from 2002-2004.

For their efforts Marceau and Whitmore receive $500, seven free nights accommodation and a complimentary Gold Card (three meals a day in a choice of three restaurants) at the Pacific Islands Club for next year's race.  

James Kennedy of Shanghai, China won the men's amateur double in 6:04:34 while Saipan's own Mieko Motoyoshi took home women's amateur honors in 7:49:27.

XTERRA Saipan, held April 1, is the "Crown Jewel" of the XTERRA Global Tour in its fifth year, combining a 1.5k swim with a 30k mountain bike and 12k trail run.  The Tagaman is a road tri in its 17th year and combines a 2k swim with a 60k bike and 15k run.

A record total of 48 participants representing nine countries participated in both races, which are presented by the Marianas Visitors Authority.  
 

To view images from the XTERRA Saipan Championship click here.

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2006 PIC DOUBLE RESULTS

      (First Name Last Name G Age Hometown XTERRA Tagaman Total)
      Olivier Marceau M 33 CANNES, FRANCE 2:35:06 2:52:24 5:27:30
      Margus Tamm M 38 TALLINN, ESTONIA 3:02:58 2:59:36 6:02:34
      James Kennedy M 28 SHANGHAI, CHINA 2:53:52 3:10:42 6:04:34
      Jamie Whitmore F 30 SOMERSET, CALIFORNIA 2:56:02 3:13:15 6:09:17
      Renata Bucher F 29 LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND 2:49:00 3:20:44 6:09:44
      Stuart Smith M 47 SAIPAN 3:14:00 3:02:43 6:16:43
      Courtney Cardenas M 32 SOMERSET, CALIFORNIA 3:06:21 3:29:05 6:35:26
      Arnoud Garderen M 34 LEUSDEN, NETHERLANDS 3:21:14 3:16:17 6:37:31
      Fabiola Corona F 26 GUADALAJARA, MEXICO 3:20:36 3:24:02 6:44:38
      Noriaki Ito M 47 NAKAHARAKU, JAPAN 3:38:03 3:09:49 6:47:52
      Aaron Fitzpatrick M 31 SAIPAN 3:29:40 3:18:16 6:47:56
      Paul Chetwynd M 45 CHINO, JAPAN 3:26:57 3:30:03 6:57:00
      Ryan Decook M 26 ROCHESTER, MICHIGAN 4:03:04 3:06:18 7:09:22
      Tyce Mister M 39 SAIPAN 3:35:50 3:36:24 7:12:14
      Dirk Sharer M 46 SAIPAN 3:55:26 3:23:28 7:18:54
      Kieran Daly M 45 SAIPAN 3:50:29 3:31:55 7:22:24
      Aaron Sanchez M 36 GUADALAJARA, MEXICO 3:42:39 3:49:22 7:32:01
      Nate Hawley M 35 SAIPAN 3:52:33 3:41:35 7:34:08
      John Frias M 41 HAGATNA, GUAM 3:52:07 3:46:00 7:38:07
      Sergey Makarenko M 39 KHABAROVSK, RUSSIA 4:00:31 3:38:48 7:39:19
      Butch Sublemente M 30 SAIPAN 3:51:30 3:51:53 7:43:23
      Mieko Motoyoshi F 28 SAIPAN 3:55:39 3:53:48 7:49:27
      Ronald Villafria M 32 SAIPAN 4:11:38 3:46:31 7:58:09
      Florian Braig M 56 SAIPAN 4:09:05 4:04:46 8:13:51
      Rob Carruth M 45 SAIPAN 4:04:33 4:14:39 8:19:12
      Kevin Carey M 36 SAIPAN 4:33:42 3:58:54 8:32:36
      Lewis Tenorio M 36 SAIPAN 5:06:24 3:58:06 9:04:30
      Brad Ruszala M 32 SAIPAN 5:12:23 4:15:03 9:27:26
      Manny Sitchon M 48 SAIPAN 5:09:21 4:19:02 9:28:23
      Jf Bader M 35 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Emelie Papenburg F 38 LEUSDEN, NETHERLANDS TEAM  
      Chris Linder M 34 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Heather Morrison F 37 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Philip Pendernal M 36 SAIPAN TEAM  
      John Douglas M 44 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Natasha Good F 17 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Shan Seman M 26 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Krista Hawley F 36 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Renato Calagre M 51 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Rezner Wong M 15 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Joshua Berger M 53 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Elise Long F 41 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Hilary Stevens F 32 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Gayle Berger F 50 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Jack Kabriel M 30 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Sarah Johnson F 14 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Michael Johnson M 49 SAIPAN TEAM  
      Kimiko Hasegawa F 37 SAIPAN TEAM

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