Star-studded Ironman 70.3 in Cebu

Celebrities and pro triathletes came out to race at the recently concluded Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championships in Cebu. The Queen City of the South capably proved to the world why it was considered the “Hollywood of Triathlons” by participants themselves.

Celebrities Piolo Pascual and Dingdong Dantes both participated as their team’s bikers in the relay division.  Cobra Energy Drink Triathlon poster boy Matteo Guidicelli successfully finished his fifth Ironman race despite being able to train for only a few weeks due to his busy schedule. Matteo, who joined his family members under team Ford Forza, competed in the swim, bike and run legs of triathlon’s individual division. His younger brother Paolo was a finisher at the Alaska IronKids race.

Other celebrities who joined this year’s competition were Kim Atienza, Paul Jake Castillo, Ivan Carapiet, Bubbles Paraiso, Sam YG, Gretchen Fullido, Gilbert Remulla and the Pangilinan family composed of TV host Anthony Pangilinan and daughters Hannah and Ella.  More stars were spotted cheering at the sidelines like Kaye Abad, Piolo’s son Iñigo Pascual, TV host Christine Jacob-Sandejas, who was there for husband Paco who participated under the Sun Life triathlon team. Carla Humphries also welcomed Carapiet at the finished line with a sign that said, “Run to me, Ivan!”

The triathlon event is considered as one of the most prestigious races of the year and the Cebu event gathered the biggest field in pro triathletes with more than 30 flying in from over 40 countries. The roster of pros included back-to-back Ironman Asia-Pacific champions Tim Reed from Australia and Caroline Steffen of Switzerland.  Reed defended his title while Steffen won her fifth straight race in Cebu.

Coming in at second place and third place in the men’s Pro division were Australians Craig Alexander and Sam Betten. Rounding off the Top 10 were Braden Currie of New Zealand, Antony Costes of France, Cameron Brown of New Zealand, Bradley Kahlefeldt of Australia, Brent Mcmahon of Canada, David Mainwaring of Australia and Jonathan Ciavatella of Italy.  In the women’s division, Czech   Radka Vodickova finished second while Australian Sara Crowley came in third.

In the male Filipino elite division, August Benedicto finished his fourth championship followed by Paul Jumamil John and Leerams Chicano. In the female division Monica Torres edged out Maria Torres and was followed by triathlete coach Ani Brown and Elona Villacin.

CEOs and businessmen who joined included Ariana Khu, Bryce Maddock, Liloan, Cebu Vice Mayor Vincent Frasco, Raymund Martin Magdaluyo, Francis Miguel, Lance Watson, Joshua Schott, Gregory Karpinski, Century Pacific Food Inc.’s Gregory Banzon, Mark Schwartz, Alex Wasilewski, Victor Consunji, Tom Navasero and Ironman Asia-Pacific CEO Geoff Meyer.

The Ironman triathlon is considered one of the most challenging and grueling endurance events involving swimming, biking and running in immediate succession over varying distances. Ironman 70.3, also known as the Half Ironman, is a variant of the event that involves shorter distances for each race.

Presented by Ford, the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championships involved swimming 1.9 kilometers in the waters fronting Shangri-La Mactan’s Resort and Spa; biking a total distance of 90 kilometers starting from the resort to the cities of Mandaue, Cebu City, Talisay; and running  21 kilometers from the hotel towards Punta Engaño and back to the finish line.

Famed Filipino designer Kenneth Cobonpue designed the finisher medals. The design, he said, was inspired by the heart of an Ironman.

The event was organized by Sunrise Events Inc. led by its president Wilfred Steven Uytengsu, an Ironman finisher himself. He said they wanted to “create a memorable experience for the triathletes. The Philippines has not been a major destination for triathlon since this event, but we do offer a beautiful country with some of the most hospitable people in the world. We would like to develop this event and create the concept of ‘sports tourism.’ So aside from the race, we wanted to make this event interesting in many other regards.”

There were several side events in Cebu that weekend such as the Alaska IronKids race, IronGirl Dressed by Runningskirts and the biggest Ironman Triathlon Expo, where athletes and fans were treated to discounts on training gears and merchandise. The event was live streamed worldwide, thanks to Globe Telecom, via www.ironman.com.

Sanso sets the stage

Benito Legarda and Juvenal Sansó.

Very little is known of Juvenal Sansó’s venture into design. At some point in his career, Sansó did textile designs for Bianchini Férier that resulted in his stint to design a year-long collection for Balenciaga. His involvement with textile designs opened for him the opportunity to enter the magical world of theater. He joins visual artists Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Joan Miró, Max Ernst, Edvard Munch, Lucien Freud, Jasper Johns and David Hockney who, at certain points in their career, designed stage sets.

The public got to see Sansó’s set and costume designs through Setting the Stage exhibit at the third floor galleries of The Ayala Museum in Makati City. The exhibit, which will run until Oct. 6., is part of a series that marks Sansó’s 70 years in art this 2016.

Setting the Stage showcases Sansó’s sketches of sets and costumes for the following operas: Sergei Prokofiev’s The Gambler, Gian Carlo Menotti’s Markheim, Jacques Charpentier’s Beatris, Alan Burg’s Wozzek, The Magic Flute, An Important Man, Cadenza, La Clemenza di Tito  and Seraglio. His designs saw light in Aix-en-Provence in France, Spoleto in Italy and the Cultural Center Philippines.

Also on exhibit are archival materials and paintings relating to Sansó’s set and costume design, including rare examples of his reverse paintings, textile designs and cliché verre.

Artist Toym Imao, son of National Artist for Visual Arts Abdulmari Imao, created a maquette and installations based on Sansó’s scenographic career. James Reyes executed several costumes that Sansó designed for The Magic Flute.

Fundacion Sansó is committed to preserve and promote the legacy of Juvenal Sansó.  It created and organized Museo Sansó, which is bound to be an educational resource through artwork exhibitions in cooperation with other artists and museums.

(Museo Sansó is located at 32 V. Cruz St., San Juan City.  Visit www.juvenalsanso.com.)

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