MANILA, Philippines — Jailani Lamama of Tri-SND Barracuga churned out a 4:01:21 clocking to top the 25-29 age-group category while entries from Great Britain dominated the 30-34 division of the IRONMAN 70.3 Davao marred by the passing of a participant at Azuela Cove last Sunday.
Abdul Rahman Toroganan clocked 4:04:08 to finish second behind the 26-year-old Lamama while Mohammad Hanin Maruhom came in third in 4:07:16. The Britons ruled their side of the competition with Chris Weeks topping it in 3:34:54, followed by Christopher Keyes (3:43:07) and Alex Woodman (3:43:23), respectively.
Kenneth Bonda clocked 3:59:09 to rule the 18-24 class over Loris Millot (4:03:56) and Jacob Rodriguez (4:06:49).
Meanwhile, the IRONMAN Group mourned the passing of swim coach Jerry Kasim, who allegedly succumbed to heart attack during the swim course. He was 49.
“We are deeply saddened to confirm the death of a race participant at IRONMAN 70.3 Davao. The athlete required medical attention during the swim portion of the race and was transported to a nearby hospital where he was treated. Our condolences go out to the athlete’s family and friends, whom we will continue to support,” said the organizing IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events, Inc.
Kasim’s younger sister Sanita Kasim Soreny, a former national dragon boat team member now based in the United Kingdom, said her family was surprised by his untimely passing since they were not aware of any heart-related disease he might have had.
American triathlete David Smith also reportedly hit an 18-year-old spectator, who was allegedly picking up empty water bottles dropped by the other participants, during the bike course.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s Filipe Azevedo and Aussie Sarah Crowley topped the premier pro division.
The other top finishers were (35-39) China’s Chen Li (3:45:18), Filipino Reagan Nabua (3:56:41) and Kuwaiti Abdullah Alrefae (4:05:18); (40-44) Thai Dane Cantwell (3:50:50), Czech Petr Lukosz (3:54:26) and Hong Kong’s Chun Kit Tsang (3:55:22); (45-49) Luxembourg’s Olivier Godart (3:34:25), Siu Yuen Wong of Hong Kong (4:10:57) and American Stephen Quance (4:21:08);
(50-54) Mark Jansen of Australia (4:13:13), Claudio Fabbri of Monaco (4:23:18), Filipino Edward Luna (4:38:50), (55-59) Craig Weymouth of Guam (4:35:13), Andreas Goros of Greece (4:45:01) and American Joseph Kelleher (4:45:40); (60-64) Koji Muroya of Japan (4:46:19), Eric Battisti of France (4:50:51) and American Robert Shannon (6:01:41); (65-69) Singapore’s Dale Mcallister (6:08:22), Hong Kong’s Lawrence Webb (6:25:10) and Martin Buchholz of the US (6:31:06); and (70-74) Japanese Kiko Hashikawa (6:16:52), Filipino Edgardo Villar (6:52:02) and Masashi Watanabe of Japan (7:06:26).
The relay winners were Alveo ALI Tri (4:18:44), which toppled Sante Barley Tri Team (5:09:16) and KCSS 2Jo of Hong Kong (5:30:42) in the female division; Go4Less, which timed 3:37:30 to beat Happy Life Tri Team (3:43:02) and Go for Gold (3:45:53) for the men’s trophy; and TRI SND Mixed I, which clocked 3:43:28 to edge TRI SND Barracuda (3:53:13) and AMAI Manibalang Triathlon (4:15:46) for the mixed crown.