CEBU, Philippines – Cebuana veteran runner Miscelle Gilbuena and former boxer turned duathlete Joland Olmilla made their presence felt after claiming third place in their respective division in the Powerman Duathlon Pilipinas in Balanga, Bataan.
Elite duathletes in the country and from abroad joined the race, but the two still managed to sneak into the third spot.
The former Southwestern University runner Gilbuena settled in third place in the elite category with a time of 3:34.14.
Gilbuena trailed behind triathlete Monica Torres and Airi Sawada, but the Cebuana outpaced more seasoned triathletes like Mirasol Abad, Joyette Jopson and Rowena Valdez.
For his part, Mandaue City’s Olmilla who used to be an amateur boxer of ALA Boxing Gym, proved his worth to be in the national duathlon training pool after a third place finish with a time of 1:40.24 in the 20-24 class.
With his performance, Olmilla gained praises from national coaches Rey Antoque, Pedring Pedrosa and Jeff Valdez who said that the Cebuano is ready for the national elite team next year. (FREEMAN)