Yellow Cab-Tri Clark A upends favorites in Subic

MANILA, Philippines - Hard work and dedication paid off for the Yellow Cab-Tri-Clark A crew as they pulled the rug from under the favorites in the club competition of the recent K-Swiss ASTC Subic Bay Asian Triathlon Championships at the Subic Bay Freeport.

Spearheaded by Ma. Claire Adorna, women’s 18-24 years category gold medalist, Yellow Cab-Tri-Clark A posted an aggregate time of 9 hours, 49 minutes, 58 seconds over the 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run course.

The victorious team included Deo Timbol, Jumbo Tayag, Abe Tayag and former national cycling standout Jeff Valdez.

Herbalife Formula One claimed the silver medal in 10:20:4 with Racing Barleys (10:23:06) capturing the bronze.

Fitness First and Tri Polo Club were bundled out of the podium for the first time in the championships sponsored by K-Swiss, Standard Insurance, Century Tuna, Speed, David’s Salon, Asian Centre for Insulation Philippines (ACIP), Gatorade, Fitness First, Garmin, Canon, PLDT, Harbor Point Ayala Mall, SM Olongapo, Lighthouse Marina Resort and Philippine Sports Commission.

Fitness First Combat (10:30:16) settled for fourth place. Fitness Body Pump (11:03:26) was two notches lower.

Meralco-Smart Lightspeed Team 3 and Speedo ruled the men’s and women’s relay, respectively. Team Isabela topped the mixed relay.

Former national triathlon and duathlon champion Monica Torres and ex-national duathlon champion August Benedicto submitted the fastest times of 2:27:47 and 2:13:30 in the age-group races.

Other age-group champions were Ka Chon Che (men 18-19), Robinson Estevez (20-24), Alessandra Gonzalez and Chi Seak Chong (30-34), Carly Relf and George Vilog (35-39), Doray Ellis and Hiroshi Takei (40-44), Celma Hitalia and Jurgen Dorr (45-49), Frank Lacson (50-54), Theresa Rulff and Chon Kai Liu (55-59) and Oscar Escudero (60 and over).

In the sprint distance, the top finishers were Claudine Ybanez and Justine Mapalo (16-19), Rosie Burnett and Rajiv Gurung (20-29), Aileen Breen and Jesus Abrigo (30-39), Meshelle Villanueva and Alexander Isip (40-49) and Michael Hargreaves (50 and over).