Micronesian Games 2024: Northern Marianas leads medal count

The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) continues to lead the medal standings of the 2024 Micronesian Games in the Marshall Islands with 26 gold, 14 silver, and 10 bronze medals on Day 4 of the event.

The CNMI almost swept Day 3 competitions as well, winning nine of the 11 events at stake, after winning four gold medals the day prior.

Nauru is in second with a 16-10-2 gold-silver-bronze count, while host Marshall Islands complete the Top 3 with 6 gold, 5 silver, and 9 bronze.

With the 50-medal haul, Team Marianas has surpassed the 9-18-9 tally the CNMI had during the 2018 Micronesian Games in Yap.

CNMI national swimming team continued to lead the charge as it added all 10 gold medals on Tuesday in the Kwajalein Pool in Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. They also collected four more silver.

Leading the CNMI swimming team bereft of an actual swimming pool back home is Maria Batallones as she went a perfect 5-of-5 in her events yesterday.

She was first part of the gold medal-winning mixed 200-yard medley relay team with Kean Pajarillaga, Isaiah Aleksenko, and Frances Raho (1:44.03).

Batallones then outlasted the field with a time of 4:57.94 in the women’s 400-yard individual medley. Teammate Shoko Litulumar was second after timing in at 5:11.73.

She then sprinted to a time of 55.62 in the 100-yard freestyle to bag the gold medal before doing the same in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:09.05.

Batallones won her fifth gold of the day after teaming up with Raho, Litulumar, and Sari Barman to win the women’s 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 8:43.31.

Aleksenko, meanwhile, added another four gold medals to his Micro Games haul yesterday after topping the men’s 400-yard individual medley in 3:59.68. Kouki Watanabe went silver in 4:26.01.

He also won the men’s 100-yard freestyle in 45:00 before joining Pajarillaga, Watanabe, and Justin Ma in a victory lap in the men’s 800-yard freestyle (7:16.29).

Raho, meanwhile, won her first individual gold of the Games after topping the women’s 50-yard backstroke in a time of 28.95. Litulumar’s 29.29 was second.

Watanabe also earned his first individual gold in the men’s 100-yard backstroke after he touched the tile in 59.66. Pajarillaga won the CNMI’s fourth silver of the day in the men’s 50-yard backstroke.

The CNMI also collected two bronzes from beach volleyball and three silver and three bronze medals from weightlifting. Kathy Winkfield and Aurora Santos took down host Marshall Islands in the women’s beach volleyball third-place match, while Dylan Mister and Jermaine Salas did the same against Kiribati in the men’s beach volleyball battle for bronze.

Weightlifter Riella Ichiuo came away with three silver medals in the 76kg weight class, while CNMI flagbearer Antonette Labausa settled for three bronze medals in the 81kg division.