HK Olympian, Japan ace top Subic triathlon
Daniel Lee Chi-Wo of Hong Kong boosted his Beijing Olympics aspirations by ruling the men’s division of the ITU-Subic Bay International Triathlon held over the weekend at the Subic Bay Freeport.
Lee, a veteran of the 2004 Athens Summer Games and Hong Kong’s first Olympic triathlete, followed his pre-race strategy to perfection to rule the race in 1:55.18.
Japan’s Hideo Fukui checked in 14 seconds behind and settled for runner-up honors.
Ladies winner
Fukui’s compatriot Tomoko Sakimoto dominated the ladies race, winning with a time of 2:08.50.
The 25-year-old Sakimoto bested Australian Belinda Granger, who managed 2:09.43 that prevented an all-Japanese podium finish.
Akaane Furutani settled for third place, followed by Hideko Kikuchi in fourth and China’s Jiao Caiping and Qiao Huan in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Filipino-American Arland Macasieb was the best-placed local bet in the men’s race, finishing in 2:04.10 for 11th spot, four rungs above reigning national triathlon champion George Vilog (2:07.37).
Lee, already the winner of the 2006 Subic race as a junior entry, alternated in the lead with Fukui until the last 500 meters when a burst of speed allowed him to shake off the Japanese.
“I knew we had good runners in the field,” said the 31-year-old Lee after winning the 1.5K swim-40K bike-10K run race. “I stayed with the pack in the swim and bike legs as planned and made my move in the final run leg.”
Lee ranks 88th in the Olympic qualifying rankings of the International Triathlon Union. Only the top 50 triathletes will make it to Beijing.
Lee placed 43rd (2:03:30.39) in Athens before bagging the silver in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.
“This race will improve my ranking, and my chances for Beijing remain good,” said Lee. “I will be competing in a few more races.”
Rounding out the top 5 were New Zealand’s Andrew Curtayne, the first triathlete off the swim leg, 1:56.52; Syrian Omar Tayara, 1:57.31; and Hong Kong’s Andrew Wright, 1:58.56.
Doha Asiad campaigner Lea Coline Langit wound up 10th in 2:22.22 and was the best-placed Filipino in the ladies race.
Ani de Leon and national duathlete Augusto Benedicto submitted the best times in the age group competition, clocking 2:28.52 and 2:14.28, respectively.
De Leon ruled the 30-34 age category while Benedicto topped the 20-24 age group.
Herbalife double
Relay team winners were Herbalife (2:13.12), Brent (2:24.36) and Mercado (2:29.57). Herbalife made it a double victory in the team competition with a total time of 9:25.41, followed by Fitness First-Combat (9:29.18) and Polo Triadstar (9:36.31).
With 400 entries, the Subic race was the country’s biggest gathering of triathletes.
Business tycoons Fernando Zobel de Ayala and Fred Uytengsu and wife Kerry and celebrities Drew Arellano, Raymart Santiago and Paolo Abrera were among the participants in the individual age group, relay and team events.
“We are happy with the turnout and it shows that triathlon is really the fastest-growing sport in the Philippines,” said Tom Carrasco, president of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines. By Romina Austria - Philippine Daily Inquirer
Lee, a veteran of the 2004 Athens Summer Games and Hong Kong’s first Olympic triathlete, followed his pre-race strategy to perfection to rule the race in 1:55.18.
Japan’s Hideo Fukui checked in 14 seconds behind and settled for runner-up honors.
Ladies winner
Fukui’s compatriot Tomoko Sakimoto dominated the ladies race, winning with a time of 2:08.50.
The 25-year-old Sakimoto bested Australian Belinda Granger, who managed 2:09.43 that prevented an all-Japanese podium finish.
Akaane Furutani settled for third place, followed by Hideko Kikuchi in fourth and China’s Jiao Caiping and Qiao Huan in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Filipino-American Arland Macasieb was the best-placed local bet in the men’s race, finishing in 2:04.10 for 11th spot, four rungs above reigning national triathlon champion George Vilog (2:07.37).
Lee, already the winner of the 2006 Subic race as a junior entry, alternated in the lead with Fukui until the last 500 meters when a burst of speed allowed him to shake off the Japanese.
“I knew we had good runners in the field,” said the 31-year-old Lee after winning the 1.5K swim-40K bike-10K run race. “I stayed with the pack in the swim and bike legs as planned and made my move in the final run leg.”
Lee ranks 88th in the Olympic qualifying rankings of the International Triathlon Union. Only the top 50 triathletes will make it to Beijing.
Lee placed 43rd (2:03:30.39) in Athens before bagging the silver in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.
“This race will improve my ranking, and my chances for Beijing remain good,” said Lee. “I will be competing in a few more races.”
Rounding out the top 5 were New Zealand’s Andrew Curtayne, the first triathlete off the swim leg, 1:56.52; Syrian Omar Tayara, 1:57.31; and Hong Kong’s Andrew Wright, 1:58.56.
Doha Asiad campaigner Lea Coline Langit wound up 10th in 2:22.22 and was the best-placed Filipino in the ladies race.
Ani de Leon and national duathlete Augusto Benedicto submitted the best times in the age group competition, clocking 2:28.52 and 2:14.28, respectively.
De Leon ruled the 30-34 age category while Benedicto topped the 20-24 age group.
Herbalife double
Relay team winners were Herbalife (2:13.12), Brent (2:24.36) and Mercado (2:29.57). Herbalife made it a double victory in the team competition with a total time of 9:25.41, followed by Fitness First-Combat (9:29.18) and Polo Triadstar (9:36.31).
With 400 entries, the Subic race was the country’s biggest gathering of triathletes.
Business tycoons Fernando Zobel de Ayala and Fred Uytengsu and wife Kerry and celebrities Drew Arellano, Raymart Santiago and Paolo Abrera were among the participants in the individual age group, relay and team events.
“We are happy with the turnout and it shows that triathlon is really the fastest-growing sport in the Philippines,” said Tom Carrasco, president of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines. By Romina Austria - Philippine Daily Inquirer
Labels: itu, Subic Bay, Triathlon 2008
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
10:45 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home