MANILA, Philippines - With last year’s pro champions Mitch Robbins and Esther Dudaz begging off to honor previous commitments, the fight for this year’s titles in the 2014 Safeguard Active 5i50 Triathlon is expected to be fierce when the event is fired off today in Bohol (Bellevue Hotel).
For one, a total of 650 triathletes from 28 countries will slug it out for top honors in the keenly awaited swim-bike-run event, led by a number of veteran campaigners and a slew of rising stars. The new course in Bohol is also expected to provide a different kind of challenge for the competing field, making it doubly interesting for the competitors and triathlon fans alike.
Robbins topped the male pro side while Dudaz dominated the ladies section of the event in Subic last year. But despite their absence, the depth of the competing field remains as talent-laden as ever with Aussies Eric Watson, Josh Amberger, Justin Granger and Michael Murphy tipped to lead the chase in their side and Frenchwoman Carole Fuchs and Aussies Ashleigh Gentle and Belinda Granger expected to fight it out in the ladies side.
Up for grabs is the top $10,000 purse in the pro division and P120,000 in the elite category of the event sponsored by Safeguard Active, with Bellevue Resort as the official hotel, and 2Go as the official courier and logistics provider.
As title sponsor for the second straight year, Safeguard Active addresses the athletes’ need for superior skin germ protection while encouraging athletes to protect their bodies’ first line of defense, the skin, with products that remove and guard against sickness- and odor-causing germs.
Other backers of the event, produced and organized by Sunrise Events, Inc., are Aqua Sphere, Coca-Cola Femsa Philippines, David’s Salon, Devant, Intercare, Planet Sports, Prudential Guarantee, Rudy Project, Smart, The Philippine STAR and Zoot.
Focus will also be on Monica Torres, the elite champion of the last two editions of the Century Tuna 5150, who will be vying in the pro class against the best of the crop. She also dominated the Asian elite division of the 2014 Challenge Philippines with the lone Filipina pro campaigner hoping to buck the odds in the upcoming event.
Meanwhile, John Leerams Chicano, Banjo Norte and Nikko Huelgas, the top three Filipino male elite winners last year, are again expected to dispute the crown in the elite category while Marie Claire Adorna goes for back-to-back in the female elite side against last year’s runner-up Jenny Rose Guerrero and Ani Carina Brown among others.
Watson, a former Bunburry Olympic Distance and Mandurah Olmpic Distance State champion, placed fourth in the recent Century Tuna 5i50 Triathlon Philippines in Subic and ended up sixth in the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines in Cebu, while Amberger is raring to finally nail the big one after finishing sixth in Ironman 70.3 St. Croix, fourth in Ironman 70.3 Boise and second in Ironman 70.3 Muncie.
Fuchs looms as the triathlete to beat in the distaff side with three victories this year – the Challenge Laguna and the Amarin Cha Am Triathlon, both in Thailand, and the Golden Triangle International Triathlon.
Out to foil her bid are Belinda Granger and Gentle with the former out to score a follow-up to her victory in 2014 Challenge Taiwan and improve on her second place finish in Century Tuna in Subic and the latter out to make an impact in the event, her first big competition this year.