Alcala, Santiago endure heavy rains to win IRONMAN 70.3 Subic Bay

It rained and rained but the downpour neither stopped nor cooled down the fearless triathletes, who swam, biked and ran the IRONMAN 70.3 Subic Bay with John Dedeus Alcala and Ines Santiago pulling off victories in varying fashions here yesterday. 

Alcala pushed himself with all the strength he could muster in the closing run stage and pounded out the win in 4:43:45 while Santiago dominated the opening swim leg and cruised to victory in 5:35:59 in wet conditions in her side of the 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21km run race at the Subic Bay Boardwalk. 

With the pack of intrepid bidders still disputing the centerpiece Century Tuna IRONMAN Philippines crowns at press time, Alcala and Santiago took the spotlight in the half-triathlon, including $1,000 each, in rare damp and cold conditions. 

Alcala put up the kind of finish he flaunted in stealing the show – but in stifling heat – in the inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Puerto Princesa in Palawan last November, racing at his own pace in the swim (39:19) and bike (2:33:21) before pouring it out with a best 1:27:05 clocking in the run leg. (SNL)

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IRONKIDS starts off strong in the sports tourism capital of the Philippines

The future of Philippine Marathon showcased the fruit of their labor as they flashed their way to excellence at the IRONKIDS here in Subic Bay. 

A total of 171 kids aged six to 15 years old clashed for this year’s first IRONKID title in the event starting and ending at the heart of Subic Bay. 

The IRONKIDS race covered various distances depending on age category from 100 to 250 meters of swimming, and one to two kilometers of running for the young ones, who could potentially grow up competing in the 5150, 70.3 and full IRONMAN in the future. 

Winners of the IRONKIDS were Euan Ramos and Zabelle Eugenio.

Ramos battled back from joint fifth in the swim with a big surge in the bike then stayed in control in the closing run to rule the premier 13-15 division in 24:34 with combined clockings of 04:53 (swim), 11:07 (bike) and 06:50 (run) over 250-m swim, 6-km bike and 2-km run distance. 

While, Eugenio, from San Isidro, Rizal, bested Erin Burgos in 28:54, clocking 05:01 in the swim and sustaining her charge with 12:20 and 09:01 times in the bike and run legs. 

Burgos finished in 29:22 with times of 05:17, 12:22 and 09:00, while last year’s Vermosa winner Celinda Raagas settled for third in 30:04 (05:32-13:15-08:40). (SNL)

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Ironman 70.3 full triathlon back in Subic

A mix of seasoned campaigners and rising endurance racing stars gear up for another riveting duel of power, speed and stamina when the Century Tuna (Full) IRONMAN Philippines and the IRONMAN 70.3 are held back in Subic Bay next month. 

Close to a thousand bidders from at least 33 countries, including 33 from Japan and 15 from the US, have so far confirmed their participation with the total cast expected to double or triple with still four weeks left before the sport’s centerpiece event is fired off on June 11 at the world-class Subic Bay course. 

Registration is ongoing. For listup and details, visit https://www.ironman.com/im703-subic-bay-philippines

The full IRONMAN PH race, set over the punishing 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run distance, has lured an early roster of 339, including 89 bets in the 45-49 age group division. 

Other age categories (male and female) are 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74 and 75-and-above. 

Five hundred and two triathletes, on the other hand, are listed in the early Subic IRONMAN 70.3 roster, including 92 in the 40-44 age bracket. They will dispute the titles in various categories over the 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21km run. 

“We are excited to provide these triathletes another great racing experience and at the same time showcase once more the best the country can offer,” said Princess Galura, general manager of the organizing The IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events, Inc. 

Also on tap is the IM 70.3 relay event. 

SEI and Century Tuna staged the first full IRONMAN in 2018, also in the country’s triathlon capital with Nick Baldwin from Seychelles ruling the event in eight hours, 50 minutes and 13 seconds and Aussie Liz Blatchford topping the women’s division in nine hours, 22 minutes and 22 seconds. (SNL)

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Australians, HK ruled in 2023 Subic Bay International Triathlon (SuBIT)

Australians Oscar Dart and Charlotte McShane ruled the sprint senior elite category in the 30th Subic Bay International Triathlon (SuBIT) over the weekend.

Dart claimed the gold medal in the men's division after posting the best aggregate time of 52 minutes and five seconds in the 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer (km), bike and 5-km run race of the event billed as the 2023 NTT AST Subic Bay Asia Cup.

Joshua Ferris, also from Australia, placed second (52:12), while 2022 champion Ren Sato of Japan was third (52:23).

Sato's teammates, Genta Uchida (52:29) and Jumpei Furuya (52:38), finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

McShane, who was born in Scotland but moved with her family to Australia in 2005, topped the women's division in 58:43.

Chinese Yifan Yang registered 58:54 to settle for second place, followed by Australian Ellie Hoitink (58:58).

The rest of the top 10 finishers were China's Meiyi Lu (58:54) and compatriot Angi Huang (59:07), Japanese Manami Hayashi (59:21), Hungarian Zsofia Kovacs (59:23), Slovakians Zuzana Michalickova (59:30) and Romana Gajdosova (59:37), and Japanese Chisato Nakajima (59.40).

On the other hand, Renz Wynn Corbin and Karen Andrea Manayon of Talisay, Cebu ruled the Under-23 Elite category.

Corbin clocked 1:01:38 to beat Irenold Reig Jr. (1:04:13) and Mark Joshua Perez (1:04:58).

Meanwhile, Hong Kong swept the Super Sprint Youth (13-15 years old) category.

The 15-year-old Nok Hei Wong finished the 750m (swim)-20km (bike)-5km (run) race with an aggregate time of 32 minutes and 05 seconds to pocket the gold medal in the boys' division.

Lok Shi Lam won the silver medal in 33:04 while Kwong Hei Anson Tsang clocked 33:07 to settle for the bronze medal.

Lai Ki Nicole Man, 15, captured the gold medal in the girls' division with a total time of 36 minutes and 17 seconds.

Petra Stamenovic placed second (36:53) followed by Sarah Elise Modiano (37:52).

In the Sprint Para-Triathlon, Cebu City's Alex Silverio bagged the gold medal in one hour, 18 minutes, and 26 seconds while teammate Cedei Nemeño Abellana got the silver medal in 1:44:22 in the men's PT4 category.

Michael Bayani topped the men's PT5 category in 1:22:39 while Edison Badillo ranked second (1:34:57).

National team coaches Ani de Leon Brown and George Vilog lived up to expectations as they ruled the “Battle of the Legends.” 

Brown, who mentors the Philippine women’s squad to next month’s Phnom Penh SEA Games, clocked 43 minutes and 38 seconds to beat the field that included Mimi Lucas and Maris Bondoc, second and third with a 54:12 and 54:49, respectively. 

Vilog, a former national titlist and Arafura Games junior champion, topped the men’s side in 38:22 ahead of Noel Salvador (39:20) and Allan Barredo (40:55), who completed the podium in the race covering 500 meters of swim, 10 kms of bike and 2.5 kms of run. 

The SuBIT, which is the longest-running Olympic distance triathlon in Asia, is co-organized by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and presented by NTT and Asian Triathlon with the Philippine Sports Commission, Standard Insurance, and Asian Center for Insulation Philippines, Inc. (SNL)

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