New finds shine in Philippine aquathlon

MANILA, Philippines – New faces emerged in the standard and sprint distances in the Triathlon Association of the Philippines’ (TRAP)-organized first Philippine Aquathlon Championships held yesterday at the Camayan Beach Resort inside the Subic Freeport Zone.

Iligan trackster and UST alumnus Leyann Ramo finished strong in the final run leg to become the country’s first female national aquathlon champion, clocking 41 minutes, 17 seconds, in the event which drew 164 entries. Vicky Deldio, unable to conquer the strong currents in the open water swim, finished a far second in 43:49, with Marga de los Reyes third in 46:15.

The race was backed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Camayan Beach Resort, Ocean Adventure, Standard Insurance, Asian Centre for Insulation Philippines, Century Tuna, The Light House, Subic Holiday Villas and Vita Coco.

La Salle Zobel’s Inaki Emil Lorbes, a member of the Philippine Swim League under coach Susan Papa, ruled the 1K run-600 swim-1K run for Aspirants 13-15 where TRAP will select the country’s representatives to the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Buenos Aires.

Lorbes was able to catch up with the lead group in the swim leg and shocked the more favored national team members en route to a solo finish in the race. He clocked 18:25, beating Juan Baniqued (18:27) and Marcus Faytaren (18:37).

Borlain sisters Samantha (18:42) and Tara (19:19) finished 1-2, relegating national junior team member Lauren Plaza to third (19:21).

Male standard distance and national aquathlon champion was Talisay City’s Kim Remolino (35:02), followed by national team member Julius Constantino from UP-Diliman (35:14) and national team member Mark Hosana (35:15).