Ducay prevails in paratriathlon; Japanese win 4

MANILA, Philippines - Competing at a longer distance proved rewarding for Sixto Ducay as he extracted revenge against last year’s rival Mohd Sabki Bin Arifin of Malaysia to power host Philippines to a strong two-gold medal  showing in the Paratriathlon Asian Championships yesterday at the Subic Bay Freeport.

The race is part of the 2014 K-Swiss ITU Subic Bay International Triathlon (SUBIT) and was held this time at the sprint distance (750m swim, 20K bike, 5K run) with Ducay making his move in the bike phase before turning the heat in the run to claim his first-ever Asian title in the TRI-4 (arm impairment) category.

“Masayang-masaya ako dahil na-beat ko ang nagawa ko last year,” said the 46-year old Ducay who timed one hour, 17 minutes,  90 seconds.

“Talagang lakas ng loob ang ginawa ko at nireserba ang sarili ko sa forte ko lalo na sa running,” added Ducay, who has a right arm deformity from minimal celebral palsy suffered  when he was six.

Mohd, who beat Ducay by just 20 ticks last year when the race was disputed at a shorter distance at 300-m swim, 6K bike and 2K run, had a tougher time in the last two legs after a good swim.  He took the silver medal in 1:18:22.

Andy Avellana easily retained his title in the TRI 2 (severe leg impairment) in this race organized by Triathlon Association of the Philippines and presented by K-Swiss as no other challenger dared to test their skills against the defending champion.

“Hindi naman naging madali dahil ang challenge ngayon ay humaba ang karera lalo na sa bike,” said the 37-year old Avellano, who clocked 1:44:16.

As expected, Japan emerged overall champion by winning the four other categories.

Leading the charge was 52-year old Toshio Furubata, a fourth placer in last year’s ITU World Triathlon Grand Finals in London. He topped the TRI 5 (moderate leg impairment) in 1:08:44.

Fifty-five year old Toshihiro Shirae won the TRI 6 (visually impaired) in 1:17:03; Shingo Kuboyama ruled the TRI 3 (Les Autres) in 1:18:22 while Atsuko Yamada dominated the TRI 6 female in 1:28:30.

Domon Noboyuki (1:12:04) and Ryo  Nakazawa (1:12:36) took a pair of silver medals in the TRI 5 and 6 to complete the impressive performance of the Japanese paratriathletes  in the event that also had the backings of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Tourism Department, Traveler’s Hotel, Blackbeard’s Seafood Island and Green Triathlon.

The  event is backed by K-Swiss, Century Tuna, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Harbor Point, Ayala Malls, Canon, Asian Center for Insulation Philippines (ACIP) , Gatorade, Speedo and Standard Insurance.

Korea’s Lee Jun Ha managed a bronze medal in the TRI 5 while Singapore and Hong Kong failed to corner a medal.