Mangrobang finishes 2nd in S’pore triathlon

National junior sprint champion Kim Mangrobang finished second to Australian Rachael Gaubry in the OSIM Singapore International Triathlon held at Singapore’s East Coast Park last weekend with the event attracting 117 female entries all over Asia, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States and France.

Mangrobang, who has been invited to attend the International Triathlon Union’s (ITU) international junior training camp set in Hungary next month, clocked a cumulative time of 1:12.28 to Gaubry’s 1.11.36. Australian Angela Laning, came in third in 1:13.39.

The other Filipina entry, 17-year-old former national junior sprint champion Mimi Lucas, finished eighth overall in the tough Olympic-distance elite women’s category with a time 2:31.44, and took the fourth spot in the U-23 female division. Australians Samantha Louise Beenie and Lynne Marie Duthie finished 1-2, clocking 2:05.42 and 2:11.26, respectively, while Asian Aquathlon champion Tania Mak So Ning was in third overall in 2:14.36.

Meanwhile, Lea Coline Langit, who was the top Filipina finisher in the 2006 Legenda-Subic Bay International Triathlon, came up with a fourth place overall finish in the Uni-President International Triathlon in Taipei.

TRAP president Tom Carrasco considers Langit, Lucas, and Mangrobang as the future of women’s triathlon while Mikki Quilala, Gerrie Calinawan, and Joash Serrano are the brightest prospects on the men’s side.