Carrasco foresees growth of duathlon

TRIATHLON Association of the Philippines Secretary-General Tom Carrasco Jr. is looking forward to the growth of duathlon in the next two years with the probable inclusion of the event in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games here and the World Beach Games.

“This augurs well for  duathlon  as we expect more athletes to go into the sport. It is  an event where we have been doing well even at the Asian level and we can expect even better  at the SEA Games level, “ said Carrasco after the awarding ceremonies of the National Duathlon Championship 2017 Sunday at the Subic Bay Freeport, in cooperation with its long-time partner Subic  Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Carrasco added that by the second quarter of 2018, he sees the formation of the national duathlon team  with the help of Standard Insurance, one of the major sponsors of the event.

 As expected, national team members dominated their respective categories in both the standard and sprint distance races of the event also backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, the SBMA Tourism Department, Gatorade, and the Asian Center for Insulation with national champion Jarwin Banatao posting back-to-back victories as he defended his title won last year in Iloilo. 

Banato clocked 1 hour, 57 minutes and 42 seconds in the 10K run-40K bike-5K run distance.

 “Sa first run loop pa lang lumabas na ako, tapos  lumayo  pa sa bike pero ‘di ko expected dahil galing pa ako sa sakit,” said Navyman Banatao, who is also sponsored by Standard Insurance. 

Finishing second was  Joey de los Reyes in 1 :59.02 after conceding early  to Banatao.

Third place went to John Topia in 2 :00.19.

 In the women’s side, defending champion Mirasol Abad dropped out in the first loop due to  injury, paving the way for the first  national title for Miscelle Gilbuena, 29, from Bantayan Island, Cebu.

Gilbuena has  been with the national team since 2014,  but  it was her first time to beat Abad.

“All the way, ako nagdala, expected ko manalo dito dahil nag improve ako sa cycling at malakas  na ako dati sa running,” said Gilbuena who clocked 2 :20.15, almost 10 minutes ahead of runner-up Jermyn Prado, a member of the national velodrome cycling team.

Prado finished in 2 :30.00, while  third placer was Rowena Valdez in 2:33.33.