MANILA, Philippines - The 18th Subic Bay International Triathlon (SUBIT) has drawn a record 650 triathletes from 23 countries, forcing the organizing Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) to close down registration for the event, set May 1-2 at the Subic Freeport Zone, as early as last week.
Organizers said this year’s edition, co-presented by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), is the biggest so far since the event started in 1992.
Unlike in the past years where focus was on the elite triathletes, this year’s SUBIT will center on the young triathletes with the staging of the Asian Junior and U-23 Championships which will be disputed using the Olympic distance.
Under-23 and Elite triathletes will see action at the1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run while junior triathletes will race at the sprint distance of 750m swim, 20K bike and 5K run
“The past SUBIT editions were a breeding ground of today’s top elite triathletes in Asian region. For this year, we decided to put more premium on the development of young triathletes who will take the place of current stars,” said TRAP president Tom Carrrasco Jr.
Hong Kong’s Daniel Lee Chi Woo was the most prominent triathlete in past SUBIT winning the event five times in 2000, 2001, 2006, 2008 and 2009 followed by Dimitry Gaag of Kazakhstan and Takumi Obara with two titles each.
Crack teams from Japan, Hungary, China, Kazakhstan, Korea and Hong Kong are the early birds who have registered in the two-day event also supported by Speedo, David’s Solon, Globe Telecom, Sunkist, Vitwater, Asian Centre for Insulation Philippines, Camaya Coast, Gatorade, Fitness First and Rudy Project.
Australia, New Zealand, USA, United Kingdom, Macau, Singapore, Iceland, France, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Poland, Iran, Israel, Syria, Belguim and Norway have also sent young triathletes to compete and test the level of play of bets from host Philippines.
TRAP will also provide athletes who want to try the endurance sport with the holding of the mini sprint (13-15), junior sprit (16-19) and adult sprint and age group competitions aside from the InterClub championships.
The top male and female age group finishers and interclub champions will receive perpetual trophies to be awarded by TRAP along with Inquirer Publications publisher of Multisports Magazine represented by Poch Bermudez and Patrick Joson.
The race will start at the Dungaree Beach and will end at the Waterfront with female elite/under 23 as well as female age groupers, junior sprint, adult sprint, mini-sprint and female inter-club relay competitions to compete on May 1 while the elite/U-23, male age groupers and inter-club team championships will be disputed the following day.