Javier, Abad dominate Powerade duathlon leg

MANILA, Philippines - National duathletes Robeno Javier and Mirasol Abad, as expected, stamped their class in the opening leg of the Powerade Duathlon held at the Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang, Muntinlupa last weekend.

Javier reasserted his mastery over teammate August Benedicto while Abad overhauled former national athlete Nhee Ann Barcena in the bike leg to cop the men’s and women’s crowns, respectively, of the event held at the bustling commercial complex south of Manila.

Javier covered the run-bike-run contest in one hour, 20 minutes, 22 seconds to pocket the top prize of P3,000 in the race sanctioned by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines and sponsored by Powerade, Filinvest, LPGMA and Nature Valley.

Benedicto, who topped last year’s first leg, timed 1:21.22 to place second and got P2,000 and veteran Ryan Mendoza (1:19.00) was third and received P1,000 in the competition also backed by Cashe Sandals, Rudy Project and Viva Water.

Abad checked in at 1:36.37 in winning the distaff side, Barcena, who used to compete in the middle distances, was a distant second in 1:41.16 while La Salle professor Michelle Estuar took third (1:50.40).

They also received medals and the same cash prizes as the men’s winners.

“Pagka-kuha ko ng lead sa first 900 meters ng takbuhan di ko na linubayan,” said the 25-year-old Santo Tomas, Pangasinan pride, fresh from his fifth overall finish in the Asian Duathlon Championships in Chiangsak, Thailand last weekend.

“Balak ko sanang humabol sa bike stage kaya lang nagkaligaw-ligaw dahil sa dami ng turns kaya hindi na rin nakahabol,” said the PMI-sponsored Benedicto, who placed sixth behind Javier in the Thai meet.

“Nuong second loop pa lang sa bike run naunahan ko na si Barcena at wala ng nakahabol,” said Abad, a 25-year-old Airwoman Second Class who trailed Barcena by 53 seconds after the 6-kilometer initial run.

A huge number of 361 duathletes saw action in last Sunday’s Powerade Duathlon “which shows that more and more enthusiasts are taking to the sport,” said race director Thumbie Remigio.

The other winners in men’s age group categories were: Rannie Estiles in the men’s 16-19-year-old division (2:14.29), Robinson Esteves (1:32.06, 20-24), Carlo Pedregosa (1:22.12, 25-29), Renan Morales (1:29.29, 30-34), Abe Tayag (1:29.51, 35-39) and Jojo Macalintal (1:33.43, 40-44).

In the women’s division, Spanish expat Julian Begona (1:55.17) bagged the 20-29 championship, Mercy Go (1:53.03) ruled the 30-39 bracket and Gladys Honrade topped (2:07.10) the 40-above category.