Triathlon newbie pulls off shocker

MANILA, Philippines — John Patrick Ciron turned his first-ever IRONMAN 70.3 appearance into an unforgettable triumph, stunning a field of elite triathletes with a gutsy performance in the Century Tuna IRONMAN 70.3 Subic Bay yesterday.

A renowned duathlon specialist, the Iriga City native entered the race with questions surrounding how he would fare against seasoned triathletes on a course that demanded excellence across all three disciplines. He answered those questions with a breakthrough performance, clocking a total time of 4:37:28 over the grueling 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21km run.

Ciron sealed the deal with a stunning closing run, clocking 1:28:17 in the half-marathon leg to outrun 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 Cebu champion August Benedicto, who settled for second in 4:40:58 (1:33:58 in the run). Mervin Santiago faded in the final stretch (01:36:40), finishing third with a time of 4:42:40.