Benedicto darts way to IRONMAN 70.3 crown

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — Seasoned Filipino triathlete August Benedicto shone bright in this gloomy Sunday morning.

Ranged against a slew of heavy challengers from 46 nations, the Filipino race warrior came, saw and conquered the historic Mactan island – shaded by dark clouds but filled with ever-beaming Cebuano crowd – in a glorious swim, bike and run to the championship in the Megaworld IRONMAN 70.3 Philippines presented by AIA Vitality at the Mactan Newtown here.

The 38-year-old Tarlac native but now based in Germany covered the tough 1.9-km swim, 90-km bike and 21-km run course in four hours, 29 minutes and 16 seconds to mark his triumphant homecoming and race comeback.

Benedicto’s conquest (35:17 in swim, 2:57:21 in bike and 1:29:43 in run) also marked the IRONMAN’s return in one of its staple race venues for the first time since 2019, fittingly crowning August in the first Sunday of the month he was named after.

Coming in by his side was Negros Occidental pride Ines Santiago, who was hailed as IRONMAN queen by clocking 5:23:14 in the endurance race that featured over 2,000 participants.

“This is my first race since 2019 so I’m happy with this win. More than that, I’m glad for the return of IRONMAN here in Cebu. They love triathlon here. Makulimlim pero napakainit ng pagsalubong ng mga Cebuano,” said Benedicto, who also won the Asian Elite category in the last Cebu IRONMAN.

With only three months of preparation from a usual year-long build-up, Benedicto found his return a tough one as he was left behind by 15 athletes in the swim competition that he admitted to be his Achilles’ heel.

But his pet event on the road was a different story as the former pro cyclist dazzled in the 90-km bike course along the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) – the newest and biggest bridge in the country – and cut through the bulk of the lead group to only trail two rivals entering the ultimate run tiff.

There, the 2007 SEA Games duathlon bronze medalist almost ran out of steam before banking on his veteran pedigree for a last gasp in overtaking Australian Mark Jansen in the last loop around seven kilometers from the Mactan beach finish line.

Cheers from the jubilant Cebuanos along the way also boosted Benedicto.

“I always get the energy from the crowd. Maraming salamat sa mga Cebuano, para sa inyo ito. Sa run, sinasabi nila malapit lang kaya tinuloy-tuloy ko lang ‘yung pacing. Veteran’s move na rin,” said Benedicto, who traveled without his family from Europe, where he left his bike.

With the help of Sunrise Events Inc., organizer of IRONMAN in the Philippines, Benedicto found a bike to borrow, and the rest was history.

Santiago, a 40-year-old teacher in the University of Asia and the Pacific, for her part was just thankful for the return of triathlon races in the country after she won the IRONMAN Subic in March.

“I’m just extra grateful since we were not able to race after two years. Now that we’re back, there’s that extra motivation and extra hunger to win,” said Santiago.

Benedicto (35-39) and Santiago (40-44) also ruled their respective age-group categories in the race backed by City of Lapu-Lapu, CCLEX, Municipality of Cordova and the City of Cebu.

Jansen (4:36:05) and John Dedeus Alcala (4:37:54) completed the overall men’s podium while Leyann Ramo (5:32:00) and Cianyl Gonzalez (5:36:09) finished behind Santiago.

Meanwhile, A.J. Rejas (F18-24) C.J. Gonzalez (F25-29), Leyann Ramo (F30-34) Mitch Otsuru-Park (F35-39), Nerissa Stafford (F45-49), M.E. Endaya (F50-54), Tanya Lee-Parker (F55-59), Kenneth Bonda (M18-24) Alcala (M25-29), Leonard Rondina (M30-34), Petr Lukosz (M40-44), Jansen (M45-49) Michael Rudolph (M50-54), Herve Potus (M55-59) and Henry Clark (M60-64) won in other age groups.

Team Spectrum Nephro Mayo (4:11:40) ruled the overall team relay to cap off the IRONMAN race backed by Active, Breitling 1884, Gatorade, Hoka and ROKA, Athletic Brewing Co., Hyperice, Santini, Wahoo, Fulgaz, Lalamove, Alaska, Lightwater, Prudential Guarantee, RLC Residences, Regent, Rudy Project, Sante and Teresa Marble Corp. and media partners Cignal, The Philippine STAR and Sportograf.com.