Benito bags bronze in Hong Kong triathlon

MANILA, Philippines - Fifteen-year-old Johanna Pe Benito claimed her first medal in international competition as she finished third in the female junior elite in the Hong Kong ITU Triathlon Premium Race Asian Cup event in Hong Kong recently.

Pe Benito put up a strong showing in the bike and running events as she rallied from a fourth place effort in the swim leg to finish behind two Hong Kong bets.

She clocked one hour, 19 minutes, 24 seconds, with splits at 16:03, 36:24 and 22:45, in the race held over the 750m swim, 18km bike and 5k run distance.

Vincci Hui Wai Sum took the gold medal in 1:10:34 while teammate Chan On Ki settled for silver in 1:16:28.

It was only the second major international stint for Pe Benito, who had to pay for her plane ticket to be able to compete in the event. Organizers, however, gave her free accommodation through the efforts of Triathlon Association of the Philippines.

Her podium finish also erased the stigma of her poor performance last Aug. 30 in the Tongyeong Asian Triathlon Championships where she failed to finish the race after a fall in the bike race.

The setback, however, failed to discourage Benito and instead motivated her to train harder.

“It’s a dream come true for me to win a bronze medal in an international tournament. This would not have happened without the support of my family, coach Melvin Fausto and God,” said Benito.

TRAP also sent Niel Catiil and Kim Mangrobang to compete in the elite race but both failed to win with a medal. Catiil and Mangrobang, however, submitted personal best times in covering the 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run event.

Catiil clocked 2:01:34 in placing 19th overall and seventh among Asian participants while Mangrobang timed 2:17:04 to finish ninth overall and third among Asian triathletes.

France triathlete Tony Moulai defeated Russian Dmitry Polyanski and former Asian champion Danylo Sapunov of Kazakhstan for the men’s title in 1:50:15 while Vendula Frintova of Czech Republic dominated Yuliya Sapunova of Ukraine and Michelle Wu of Australia, third placer in the last Subic Bay International Triathlon, in the female elite in 2:03:07.

Next stop for Catiil, Mangrobang and Benito is the 2009 Asian Duathlon on Nov. 15 at Subic Bay.