Japanese triathletes Yuichi Hosoda and Mariko Adachi survived the tough challenge to retain their Elite Asian titles in yesterday’s K-Swiss Subic Bay ASTC Asian Triathlon Championships held at the Subic Bay Freeport.
Racing under searing heat, the 29-year-old Hosoda relied on his nerves of steel as he managed to keep up his pace leading to a convincing win against Chinese bet Jiang Zhihang.
A gold medalist in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and a veteran of the 2012 London Olympics where he finished 43rd overall, Hosada negotiated the 1.5-k swim, 40-k bike and 10-k run in two hours, one minute and 32 seconds to keep the title he won in the 2012 Tateyama ASTC Triathlon Championships.
“The weather was hot and I was dehydrated going into the run. I had to slow down in the last lap and was lucky to survive and win the race,” said Hosoda who was six seconds ahead of Zhihang at 2:01.51.
Another Japanese bet Ryoshuke Yamamoto took the bronze medal at 2:01.52 while China’s Bai Faquan, who ruled last year’s race organized by Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) in partnership with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), this time, settled for fourth at 2:03 and compatriot Zhang Yiming claimed the fifth spot at 2:03:01.
Earlier Adachi, winner in the female Elite in Tateyama, overcame a slow start with a big windup in the second loop of the four-loop run leg to steal the victory from compatriot and 2012 Asian Youth Games gold medalist Yuka Sato.
POC President Jose Cojuangco Jr. joined SMBA Chairman and CEO Roberto Garcia, ASTC President Yu Kung Sun and TRAP President, POC Chairman and ASTC SVP Tom Carrasco Jr. in awarding medals to the winners.
The 29-year-old, Osaka native Adachi used her experienced to the hilt as she allowed 21-year-old Sato to take control in the swim and bike before pushing herself to her limit in the run. (Manila Bulletin)
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