By Allen M. Villa
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT , July 3
(PIA) -- The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) expressed optimism for the future of sports
tourism in this free port after it successfully hosted another
international
triathlon last week.
SBMA chairman and administrator Roberto V. Garcia said the
first Century Tuna 5i50 Triathlon, which drew more than 600
foreign and Filipino tri-athletes, will carry the torch for Subic in the international sporting circuit for the next three years.
“We are surely gaining ground as far as sports tourism is
concerned,” Garcia said after the inaugural run.
“We’re very proud to have hosted this event and we have a
lot of foreign and local athletes, all of whom were very happy
about the unique and challenging course,” he added.
The Century Tuna 5i50 Triathlon was the first 5i50 distance
event authorized by the World Triathlon Corp. or WTC in Southeast Asia . It was composed of a 1.5-km swim, a 40-km bike, and a 10-km run
that took
participants along the most scenic routes in this free port.
Organizer Alaska Milk Corp. president and CEO Fred Uytengsu
said the Olympic-distance triathlon race will be held here annually
until 2014 and will be organized by Sunrise Events, Inc., the company
behind
Ironman 70.3 Philippines .
Garcia said the SBMA has signed a contract with Sunrise
Events, Inc. for the staging of the event until 2014. “So we look forward
to a bigger field next year. As far as our sports tourism program
is concerned, we will continue to promote triathlons,
marathons, biking events and all other sports events which have chosen Subic Bay as their venue,” he added.
Australian triathlon veteran David Dellow emerged as the
first 5i50 Subic Bay champion on last
Sunday’s race, after finishing with a time of two hours, three minutes and two seconds. Dellow was also
the
champion in Ironman Cairns 2012 held on June 3. He placed
fifth at the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship 2012 in Melbourne last March 24.
Following close behind Dellow was three-time Olympic
Triathlon qualifier Csaba Kuttor of Hungary , with total time of two
hours, three minutes and 27 seconds. Kuttor finished eighth place in the
2012 5i50
in Klagenfurt ,
Austria
In third place was Australian Xterra elite Ben Allen with
two hours, four minutes and 43 seconds, while Canadian Mathieu
O’Halloran finished fourth with two hours, five minutes and 23 seconds.
Allen won
first place in the 2012 Xterra Asian Triple Crown and first
place at the 2012 Xterra Philippines , while O’ Halloran
finished first place in the Pico De Loro Triathlon 2012, first place in the Zambales Beach
Games Triathlon in 2011 and first place at the Bantayan
Beach Games Triathlon.
Another Australian, Belinda Granger, ruled the women’s
category, clocking two hours, 22 minutes and 35 seconds.
Meanwhile, the relay category was led by the Wetshop Tri
Team, which recorded an aggregate time of two hours, 16 minutes and 27
seconds.
Team Wetshop Para-Tri clocked two hours, 31 minutes and 30
seconds for a second finish, while Meralco Lightspeed Team 1 finished
third with two hours, 32 minutes and 35 seconds.
A total of 619 participants, including 45 relay teams of
three members each, joined the race which totaled to a 51.50-kilometer
triathlon distance.
The Subic Bay sports event
also drew international professional triathletes like Canadian Ali Fitch, British Jacki Slack,
and Justin Granger. Filipino celebrities attended the event like
senator Pia Cayetano, television hosts Kim Atienza and Drew Arellano,
actor Matteo Guidicelli and news anchor Raffy Tima.
Organizer Alaska Milk Corp. president and CEO Fred Uytengsu
said the Olympic-distance triathlon race will be held here annually
until 2014 and will be organized by Sunrise Events, Inc., the company
behind
Ironman 70.3 Philippines .
(CLJD/AMV-PIA3)
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