Lalanto third in Singapore jr aquathlon

MANILA, Philippines - National triathlete Sixto Abeth Lalanto grabbed the bronze medal in the 2013 Singapore Aquathlon juniors division, making up for his heartbreaking loss in the recent POC-PSC National Games to fierce rival Jimuel Patilan of Olongapo City.

Ranged against 19 other competitors in the Juniors 16-19 category (swim-run format), Lalanto finished the 750 meter swim-5K run event in 32 minutes, 32 seconds for third place behind Malaysia’s Mohd Tareef Zakana (31:05) and Bret Izzo of Australia. Among all participants in his category, Lalanto had the best swim time split of 11:09.

The bronze medal finish boosted Lalanto’s morale as well as his campaign in the ongoing qualifying circuit for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) triathlon event. Currently, the Cagayan de Oro native ranks second among male Filipino participants competing for the limited slots to the YOG. Kazakhstan will be hosting the Asian YOG qualifying event on June 7, 2014.

 Accompanying Lalanto was TRAP’s national junior coach Melvin Fausto.