PANGLAO, Bohol—Aussies Tim Reed and Kerry Morris dug deep from their vast ammunition to rule the last edition of the Bellevue Resort 5150 Triathlon here yesterday.
Reed completed a spectacular return to short-distance racing as he outlasted compatriot and defending champion Sam Betten in the Men’s Pro event, turning in the day’s best time of 1 hour and 58.24 minutes in finishing the 1.5km, 40k bike and 10k race.
Betten, champion of the previous two editions of the event organized by Sunrise Events, took the pace in the swim and bike courses but faded in the run race of the elite category he dominated the last two years.
“I did pretty good on the bike. My plan was to hold my rhythm. But it’s always a matter of whether I can hold on in the run,” said Betten, who settled for the runner-up finish with a clocking of 2:01.24. “Unfortunately, I was really struggling out there in the run today as my plan was to get as hard as I could from start to finish.”
Behind by Betten by about two minutes after the bike race, Reed, last year’s World Champion, poured it on in the run duel and caught up with the erstwhile titlist in the first four kilometers. Then, he turned on the heat and cruised to the finish for his first 5150 title in a long while.
“My last short-distance race was three or four years ago. I thought I’m just gonna race my race and try to have a good run. Thankfully, sometimes when your legs are tired on the bike, you feel great on the run,” said Reed, champion of the long-distance Ironman 70.3 in Cebu the last for the last three years. “Certainly, I’m gonna come back here for more races, including 5150 races of course.”
Finishing third overall with a time of 2:10.50 was Cebuano Jorry Ycong, who emerged champion of the Male Asian Elite in this event presented by the Department of Tourism and Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines and backed by venue hosts Province of Bohol, Municipality of Panglao and bike course partner Municipality of Dauis.
In the Women’s Pro duel, Morris, starting to reap the benefits of taking triathlon full-time, won her first title in the Philippines.
Setting the pace from start to finish, she finished with an official time of 2:24.45, which was 38 seconds faster than compatriot Dimity-Lee Duke.
Morris, who momentarily gave up her engineering career to focus on triathlon, was fresh from a third-place finish in the recent 70.3 Cebu Ironman.
It looked like the sting was still there as she brushed aside Duke’s challenge all the way to the finish.
“You are as tough as nails,” Morris told Duke after the race. “So much respect for you.”
Duke said he thought Morris would give it up in the run race. “I thought she was struggling, but she kept on and got it.”
Placing a far third was American Laurel Wassner, who obviously was still trying to keep pace with short-distance specialists even as she was coming off two successive Ironman victories in Taiwan and Israman.
For complete results, visit www.bellevue. 5150philippines.com.
Nearly 500 local and international triathletes saw action, including the Sunrise Sprint category in this supported by 2GO Express, Powerade and Wilkins Pure, official swim cap Tyr, registration partner Active Network. Other sponsors are David’s Salon, Gu, Intercare and Pioneer, while The Philippine Star, Trilife, Asiatri.com and Finisherpix are media partners, Alcoplus, Bohol Bee Farm, Cetaphil, Daylong, Devant, Regent Sanicare, Ssangyong, Storck and Timex are the marketing partners.
