Jacobs eyes 3 in Ironman

AUSTRALIAN Pro triathlete Pete Jacobs is eyeing for a three-peat in the men’s pro category of this year’s edition of the Cobra Ironman 70.3 triathlon race on Aug. 5 at the Shangri-La Resort and Spa in Mactan, Cebu.

Women’s pro defending champion Belinda Granger aims for a back-to-back title and will be facing old foes such as Amanda Stevens, who settled for second last year, and Bree Wee who was third place.

According to event organizer Princess Galura, Jacobs is considered as one of the world’s premiere Ironman swimmers. His trademark is his ability to swim away from the pack. He has shown an improvement with his running, making him harder to beat.

High hopes

In the Filipino male elite, Arland Macaseib is with high hopes of retaining his dominance and will be up against his long-time rival Neil Catiil. Macaseib, who suffered a minor sprain, hopes to recover fast and get back in shape in time for this August.

The event attracted 10 professional triathletes and has come up with 1,700 participants, said Galura.

“Everything is all set for this August; we have quite a number of participants from Cebu,” Galura said.

Cebu alone will be fielding more than 300 triathletes, to be led by rising triathlete Mendel Lopez, who has shown an impressive performance in the recent Tabuelan Triathlon 111 even though he was disqualified due to some technical glitch. Aside from Mendel, another veteran marathoner, Philip Duenas, also joins this year’s race along with seasoned triathletes Noy Jopson, Franz Baguio Ralph Arche, Loveneil Casidsid, Jose Mari and Myrlinda Colmenares. Former top triathletes, such as Chris Aldeguer and Nino Abarquez, are also making a comeback. Cebu’s triathlon princess Rochelle Tan will be defending her dominance in the 18-24 group.

One-shot deal

This year’s race will no longer be a qualifying round for the Ford World Ironman Championship in Kona, Hawaii.

“It was a one-shot deal. What happened last year, China cancelled their full Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races, so the World Triathlon Corporation decided to allocate the age group qualifying slots to other races in the Asia-Pacific region, such as here in the Philippines,” Galura said.

Thirty slots for the Ford Ironman World Championship were allocated.

To ensure everything will be running smoothly, they will be using all-standard technical equipment, especially the timing system, to avoid delays with the results.