RP triathletes to vie in Asian tilts

As the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) steps us its preparation for the 11th Asian Triathlon Championships, two batches of national triathletes, a veteran group and a juniors team, are slated to vie for honors in separate Asian events and activities in the next two weeks.

The group of veterans, led by national champion George Vilog, will be facing off with Asian rivals in the Beijing International Triathlon set July 28. With Vilog in the Standard Distance 51.5 Km (1.5 Km swim-40 Km bike-10 Km run) event are national Under-23 female champion Kaye Lopez and former NTT champion Mark Candelaria. The three are now focused in improving their Asian rankings for 2002.

The second group, consisting of Francis Mercado (Nat’l Junior Sprint Male champion), Astrud Valdez (Nat’l Junior Sprint Female champion) and Andrew Alon-Alon (RP Junior Sprint Male No. 2), will undergo intense and scientific training in the upcoming IOC/ITU Solidarity Camp for junior triathletes in Nagara River, Kaidu City, Japan set July 30 to Aug. 3.

The race course of the Beijing International Triathlon, organized by the China Triathlon Sports Association (CTSA), is a possible site for the 2008 Olympic triathlon event. The event is sanctioned by the Asian Triathlon Confederation (ASTC) and will be hosting several World Cup events prior to the 2008 Olympics.

A super sprint triathlon event (16-19 yrs, Sprint Distance 25.75 Km) on Aug. 4 in Kaidu City, organized by the Japan Triathlon Union (JTU), will culminate the training camp. Under the supervision of team coach Raul Cuevas, Mercado, Valdez and Alon-Alon will face the other young Asian triathletes in the race. A general performance review of both the training camp and the race will be conducted by the JTU and technical officials on Aug. 5.

Both Asian stints are supported by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP), Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), SPEEDO, RELIV and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).