Portuguese journeyman tops Subic triathlon

MANILA, Philippines — Portuguese journeyman Filipe Azevedo ended the dominance of the Japanese in the 25th edition of the NTT Asia Cup Subic Bay International Triathlon last weekend at ACEA Subic Bay in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

Azevedo used a strong kick to outrun Korea’s Min Ho Heo (1:50:55) and Japan’s Takumi Hojo (1:50:59) with a winning time of 1:50:50 in the grueling 1.5K  swim-40K bike-10Krun Elite Men’s contest organized by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines in partnership with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

On the distaff side in the event sponsored by POC, Arena, New Balance, Philippine STAR, Gatorade, Omega Pain Killer Liniment, Standard Insurance, Lighthouse Marina Resort, Century Tuna, Gatorade, Subic Holiday Villas, Travelers Hotel, ACEA, Asian Center for Insulation and Solar Sports, China’s Zhong Mengying (2:01:19), Zhang Yi (2:03:44) and Yang Ling (2:04:49) swept the Top 3 positions in dominating fashion, leading from start to finish from the swim leg to biking and superb runs of under 38 minutes under the sun.

The Philippines’ Kim Mangrobang, the 2017 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, settled for eighth place in the Elite Women’s race timing 2:07:09.

The Philippines somehow salvaged its pride with the victories of JC Abad (2:03:33), Edward Macalalad (2:04:23) and Julius Constantino (2:07:46) in the Men’s Under-23 contest.

On Saturday,  Singapore, Hong Kong and China’s junior triathletes dominated the sprint distance events with Filipino boys grabbing the 13-15 category. The distaff side was dominated by the Wright sisters of Hong Kong sweeping Top 3 posts while the boys 16-19 race saw Hong Kong at 1-2 and China at third place.

Most swimmers showed superiority in the swim leg.