World-class triathletes clash in Subic

SUBIC — World top-ranked triathletes in the region, including those from Kazakhstan, Japan, Hong Kong and China, converge in Subic Bay Freeport this weekend for the staging of the Speedo Asian Triathlon Championships 2004, which also serves as Asia’s qualifying event for the forthcoming Athens Olympics.

Kazakhs Dmitry Gaag and Daniel Sapunov, ranked No. 10 and No. 54 in the world, respectively, will renew their personal rivalry, looming as the top favorites in the elite men’s competition set to be fired off at 8:15 a.m. tomorrow.

Challenges may come from Japan’s Hiroyuki Nishiuchi, Ryosuke Yamamoto, Tsukasa Hirano, Junicho Yamamoto, Hirokatsu Yamamoto, Hong Kong’s Daniel Lee Chi Wo and another Kazakh Hirokatsu Smurov who are also world-class competitors.

The elite female class will also be featuring a star-studded cast in Japanese Machico Nakahishi (ranked No. 25 in the world), Akiko Sekine (No. 37), Miyuki Biwata (No. 53), Shizoka Kutsuna (No. 74), Maki Shumomura (No. 75), Saori Omatsu (No. 78), Chinese Xing Lin (No. 83), Wang Hongni (No. 98) and Kazakh Yekaterina Shatnaya (No. 99). They will be flagged off at 7 a.m. also tomorrow.

The local bets face a gargantuan task versus these foreign rivals and might just seek to improve their personal bests in the 1.5km-swim, 40km-bike and 10km-run event starting and finishing at the Boardwalk Area of this sprawling former US naval base.

George Vilog and Ani Karina de Leon were the Philippines’ best male and female finishers both at 14th in the 12th edition of this annual competition last year in Chennai, India. Vilog was about 20 minutes behind men’s winner Sapunov and De Leon 15 minutes off ladies champion Kutsuna.

Sapunov also ruled the 2002 championship in China but was beaten by Gaag for the 2003 Subic International Triathlon (SUBIT).

Ushering in the elite competitions is the Asian Age Group event this morning. It has a race distance of 750m for the swimming, 20km biking and 5km running.

Both the Speedo Asian Triathlon Championships and Asian Age Group Competitions are organized by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines in cooperation with the Philippine Sports Commission, Phillippine Olympic Committee, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and the Asian Triathlon Confederation.

Also featuring athletes from Singapore, Thailand, Nepal, Macao, Korea, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Iran Qatar, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Mongolia, the event is sponsored by Smart Communications, Speedo, New Balance and Legenda Hotel Subic with support from Reliv, Gatorade, PowerBar Energy Bars and Gels, GlaxoSmithKilne and Asian Center for Insulation.

Outside of the elite competitions, other events on tap are the male and female under 23, male and female junior sprint and several age-group competitions for both male and female.

Champions in the elite competitions qualify for the Athens Olympics. Medals, trophies and gift items from Speedo, New Balance, PowerBar and Smart Communications, meanwhile, await top three finishers in the other events.

Triathlon was accepted and first introduced in the Olympics as a medal sport in the 2000 Sydney Games. The event will also be introduced as a medal sport in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.