CEBU, Philippines - Duathlon and aquathlon events are being added to spice up the second leg of the SPEEDO National Age-Group Triathlon Series set tomorrow at the Alegre Beach Resort in Sogod, Cebu .
This was agreed upon by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) president Tom Carrasco and Danao City Councilor Oscar “Boying” Rodgiguez, Jr. over lunch yesterday.
The duathlon (run-bike) and aquathlon (swim-run) are included in the race to encourage the locals to get a feel of the triathlon atmosphere.
In the triathlon competition, more entries are expected this time compared to last year because the Cebuanos are slowly regaining their interest in the sport via the monthly 50-50 race.
Among the top triathletes to watch out for is Cebuano Gerrie Calinawan, who won three of the five legs staged last year.
However, Calinawan was not awarded with the overall championship even if he had the highest number of accumulated points because he missed the two legs.
“In the case of the NAGT Series last year, you need to participate four of the five legs and Caliwan only had three,” Carrasco said.
Aside from Calinawan, also expected to participate is Hong Kong’s top age-grouper Marc Weis. A group from Bacolod led by Dr.Richie Yusay will also be coming over as well as triathletes from Cagayan de Oro City and Manila.
Carrasco hopes that they will be able to identify new talents from Cebu through the NAGT as there is no more Cebuanos in the RP training pool right now.
“I still believe that this (NAGT) is still the best way to propagate triathlon as a sport. Age-groupers form the critical mass of the sport. We are just a small association, but would like to develop athletes to achieve world-class status,” said Carrasco. – Caecent No-ot Magsumbol (THE FREEMAN)