Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal is rolling out the red carpet for the expected 600 participants in the coming Mt. Mayon ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup on Aug. 12 and the 2018 Mt. Mayon ASTC Paratriathlon Championship set earlier on Aug. 10.
This is the first time for this Southern city to host a paratriathlon race.
“When we partnered with the Triathlon Association of the Philippines five years ago, we saw the opportunity that hosting the event will give to our city, sports tourism being a major niche in our local tourism campaign aside from Legazpi being considered as a national convention center. Prior to holding our first race, our tourist arrival was around 300,000, but now we have already exceeded the 1-million mark and these triathlon events have helped promote what we have to offer here,” said Mayor Rosal.
He also cited the water leg venue is Albay Gulf as one of the best because of its clean and clear water and fine sand beach, with majestic Mt. Mayon as a backdrop.
“We could have a bigger field of participants but we are controlling the number to ensure a high level of safety for the triathletes. But the past years have seen a steady increase in the number, including foreign entries,” he added.
The Aug. 10 event will have the Asian Paratriathlon Championship, which has attracted 25 entries from five countries, including host Philippines, with the Philippine Paratriathlon Committee fielding blind twins Joshua and Jerome Nelmida in the visually-impaired category and Cebuano Alex Silverio in the PTS 4 category.
Japan is expected to dominate as it is sending the biggest delegation of paratriathletes.
Other countries entered here are China, Korea, and Kyrgistan.
The age-group competition with 500 entries will also race on the same day.
On Aug. 12, the men and women elite athletes compete in the fifth staging of the Asian Cup that has close to 100 participants.
The Philippines is fielding its top triathletes John Chicanom Nikko Huelgas, Mark Hosana, Julius Constantino, Kim Kilgroe and Claire Adorna, according to TRAP President Tom Carrasco Jr.