Cebuano among shining Kims of Philippine triathlon

CEBU, Philippines —  You may call it a coincidence but three shining stars in the Philippine triathlon scene today have the same name - Kim.

Two of them are Kim Mangrobang ang Kim Kilgroe, who posted a 1-2 finish for the Philippines in women’s triathlon event of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games hosted by the country last year.

The other is Cebu’s pride Kim Remolino, who settled for silver medal behind his compatriot John Leerams Chicano in the men’s division.

Remolino said he really took pride competing alongside his fellow Kims while donning the country’s tri-colors in a prestigious international event.

“Actually for me it was a really fun experience to have represented the country with them that we all have the same name,” shared Remolino.

“It made a bigger mark for our event that it almost became a meme for our sport that if you want your kids to excel in triathlon, you have to name them Kim. so it was overwhelming to know that even with this very simple coincidence, we can leave a mark to other people’s mind,” he added.

Of his countless accomplishments here and abroad, the 20-year-old Remolino considers his second-place finish in the SEA Games is by far his greatest performance.

“My biggest achievement so far was the silver medal from SEAG,” said Remolino. “There’s no hard feelings on missing the gold because I think it was also a lesson for me that there’s someone who is better than me.”

“That’s why I always need to give the extra mile and extra effort for me to improve further because sometimes I tend to forget that I am not the only athlete who wanted to reach the top. So I really need to push harder on my end,” added the pride of Talisay City.

On being considered as the future star of Phl triathlon, the decorated Cebuano athlete said he felt a little bit pressured but he is up for the challenge that lies ahead of him.

“I’m super honored and also there’s that pressure on me that I have have to excel more in my chosen sport so as not disappoint anyone or maybe the country because they are putting some hope in me to excel in this sport,” said Remolino.

For now, Remolino is hoping that everything will return to normal soon so that he and his fellow triathletes can resume training and eventually get back on the racing circuit.

“I wish is we can go back to normal soon especially on our training. It is really hard for us to train indoors because not all of us have the necessary equipment,” said Remolino.

“There might be some disadvantages with it so in order for us to keep up with those disadvantages, we have to give more effort in our sport. Looking forward to that day when we could train again like how we used to. I also hope that we can all continue with our races for us to further improve our performances,” he ended.