National triathletes shine in Olympic distance

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine elite triathletes Edward Vince Jared Macalalad and Karen Manayon took up the challenge of Subic’s scorching heat and rolling terrain plus their multisport training in Portugal to push harder and establish their status as fastest finishers in the My Daily Collagen® Triathlon Sunday.

Macalalad completed the 1.5K swim–40K bike–10K run standard distance at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone race in 2 hours, 13 minutes, 6 seconds to top the male 18-24 age group. Fellow elite triathlete Banjo Norte zipped into the chute 22 seconds later for second overall  and first in the 25-29 age group, followed by Julius Constantino in 2:17:08.

In the women’s competition, Manayon clocked 2:38:59 to rule the female 18-24 category. Age proved to be no barrier as Manayon was joined in the top 3 by Ines Santiago (35-39) in 2:41:22, and Petro Kuiper (50-54) in 2:48:33.

Other Standard Distance age-group champions of the event supported by Smart were Cianyl Gonzales (25-29), Lyllian Grace Banzon and Lorin-Pedro Balandreau (30-34),  Ronald Molit (35-39), Nylah Bautista and Jeff Valdez (40-44), Bic Ferreria and Romeo Marquez (45-49), Peter Gonzalez (50-54), Rune Stroem (55-59) and Josef Guetta (60-above).

Champions in the sprint distance (750m swim–18K bike–5K run) were Marielle Estreba and Josh Angelo Averion (15-19), Austine Morfe (20-29), Princess Que and Melvin Benzon (30-39), Ana Cristina Abanico and Ranvel Eriko Rufino (40-49), Margaret Koa Cheng (50-above) and Ruben Ercilla (50-59).

Top three teams in the standard distance were Cebu City Rider Omega Tri Team, Team Sante Barley and Herbalife.  The relay category champions were Team Salada (family), Cebu City Rider Omega Tri Team (mixed), Prito Fam (all-female) and Team Balon Dagupan (all-male).