Japanese athletes rule Camotes triathlon race

CEBU, Philippines - Local bets tried to outshine the Japanese nationals but fell short in the end as triathlon pro Hiroyuki Nishiuchi went unstoppable to rule the middle distance race of the 1st Captivating Camotes Triathlon the other day at the scenic Santiago Bay in San Francisco, Camotes Island.

The 37-year-old Nishiuchi showed to his protégés at NSI in Osaka, Japan what he is made of by racing at full speed all throughout the grueling race consisting of a 1.9-kilometer swim, 60K bike and 15K run.

Nishiuchi touched down the finish line with the best time of four hours, eight minutes and 20 seconds. Bohol’s Emmanuel Commendador timed 4:11:08 to settle for second place, while Philip Duenas, a long distance running star turned triathlete, wound up third with a 4:15:13 clocking.

The multi-titled Noy Jopson, who is in deep training for next month's XTERRA Philippines Off-Road Triathlon Championships in Liloan, landed at fourth followed by Carlos Aboitiz, a first timer in this three-in-one sport.

In the distaff side, Yukiko Koike, also 37, came out the fastest in four hours, 36 minutes and 20 seconds.

In the standard distance covering a 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 3K run, Mernie Gomez topped the men's division in 3:23:20 followed by Jesson Cuyos (3:45:53) and Rico Petallar (4:03:01), while Japan's Fumi Ogana and Atsuko Iwamatsu had a 1-2 finish in the women's category with the time of 4:11:13 and 4:36:23.

The Pinoy bets made their presence felt in the sprint distance, with Ramie Lawas (1:57:34), Gary Maningo (2:45:36) and Chito Hernandez (2:53:20) occupying the top three spots in the men's class.

Doreen Jabinez lorded it over in the women's bracket with the time of 2:35:48 followed by Yedessa Cuyos (2:59:08) and Alella Cane (3:14:35).

In the relay event, the trio of Jieter Bada, Rey and Fernando Berbesada stamped their class over the team of Manuel Minoza and Jun Amores.

In the supertrikids, the top performers were  Danikah Jabinez (9-10), Mikele Jopson (7-under), Johana Maloloy-on (11-12) and MC Justin Hernandez (13-15). (FREEMAN)