Bohol—John Leerams Chicano and Erika Nicole Burgos flashed enduring strength and energy then uncorked furious runs to crown themselves the new Sun Life 5150 Triatlon champions at the Bellevue Resort beachfront on Panglao Island here on Sunday.
Chicano, a multi-gold medalist in the SEA Games, posted a best 00:35:41 time in the closing run stage and went on to dominate the men’s field and clinch the overall championship in a fast 2:00:04 clocking in the 1.5 km-swim, 40 km-bike and 10 km run race under the Olympic-style setup at one of the country’s top triathlon hubs.
Popularly known as “Rambo” in the triathlon community, Chicano came out of the waters in 00:20:33, just behind Penong’s 5150 winner Joshua Ramos’ 00:20:12, yielded to last year’s champion Satar Salem in the bike event, 00:59:48-00:58:52, but beat the rest in the run to win by over four minutes in near-ideal conditions.
Salem, who placed joint third in swim, 00:21:07, timed 00:39:53 in the run and settled for runner-up honors in 2:04:44, while Ramos slowed down in the bike (01:00:09) and finished in 00:42:30 for third in 02:07:30.
Burgos, on the other hand, took control early in her side of the battle, clocking 00:21:20 against Leyann Ramo’s 00:23:40 in swim, gave up the lead in bike (01:15:09-01:11:10) but, like Chicano, put up a strong finishing kick (00:43:18) to claim the women’s overall title in 02:24:28 in the event organized by The IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events, Inc.
Ramo failed to keep pace with Burgos and faded in 00:50:09 for second in 02:30:10 while Katrina Salazar clocked 02:32:09 for third place in the race sponsored by Sun Life Philippines for the third time and held in conjunction with the Sandugo Festival celebrations, a project of the Province of Bohol under Gov. Aris Aumentado.
Chicano (30-34) and Burgos (20-24) also topped their respective age group divisions with Salem and Ramos ruling the male 25-29 and 20-24 classes, respectively. Ramo also claimed the women’s 30-34 trophy while Salazar reigned in the 15-19 category of the event backed by Sun Life, Go For Gold, The Bellevue Resorts, Province of Bohol, Municipality of Dauis, Municipality of Panglao, Sandugo 2023, Rudy Project, Sante, Active, Manila Bulletin and Tempo.
Sharing the spotlight were Matthew Hermosa and Nicole del Rosario, who snared the Go for Gold Sunrise Sprint titles in varying fashions in a race disputed over the 750m open-water swim, 20km bike ride and a 5km run distance.
Hermosa matched last year’s third placer Renz Corbin’s 00:08:16 clocking in swim, dropped to second in bike, 00:30:51-00:30:44, but recovered in time at the finish, 00:18:36-00:18:54 to win via the slimmest of margins, 01:01:56-01:02:12.
Joseff Quirino came in third in 01:03:20.
But Del Rosario asserted her might in the women’s side, winning in 01:13:12 (00:09:47-00:34:19-00:24:03) with Nicole Rojo and Jamie Lynn Lacaya finishing second and third in 01:17:03 and 01:28:28, respectively.
Other age group winners were (women’s) Angelica Rejas (25-29 – 02:41:36), Sittie Dimaporo (35-29 – 02:47:11), Ma. Lourdes Cabero (40-44 – 02:49:37), Rena Marte (45-49 – 03:01:06), Ratna Dimaporo (50-54 – 03:21:10), Jo Cudmore (60-64 – 03:35:01); (men’s) Joseph Agolong (15-19 – 02:20:19), Kristiane Lim (35-39 – 02:10:32), Arthur Abogago (40-44 – 02:20:05), Stephane Duranton (45-49 – 02:32:21), Miguelito Macalso (50-54 – 02:40:14), Andreas Goros (55-59 – 02:33:37), Benjamin Villagracia (60-64 – 02:59:20) and Nick Cudmore (65-69 – 02:55:06).
Team The Usuals, composed of Kyra Yu, Elizabeth Margulies and Martha Punzalan, snatched the women’s relay crown with a 02:43:16 clocking, edging Team GCGMMC Tri Team (02:44:26) and Team Trimac Ladies (02:50:19), while Team DPS Racing, made up of Rivanz Conejos, Justine Pabualan and Jerald Zabala, bagged the men’s relay trophy in 02:04:33, beating Team Echague Isabela of Jonathan de Guzman, March Aleonar and Lowegene Aliligay, (02:08:28), and Team Sun Life Tri Team of Piolo Pascual, Matteo Guidicelli and Juan Miguel Guidote (02:35:46).
Team Tri SND Barracuda of Kiara Eroy, Al Fritz Gascon and Marlon Pabilarana ruled the relay mixed in 02:06:10 with Team The Badasses and Team UCT Dynamites placing second and third in 02:46:24 and 02:49:10, respectively.