AN exciting race looms in the southern side of Cebu as the country’s top triathletes and Southeast Asian (Sea) Games gold medalists arrive to contend for titles in the 2018 National Age Group Triathlon (NAGT) on Sunday, Dec. 2 at the City of Naga Boardwalk.
Leading the solid cast is back-to-back Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Nikko Huelgas. He will be the top athlete to watch out for in the men’s standard race.
It won’t be an easy task for Huelgas though with the presence of some of Visayas formidable athletes in national team member Andrew Kim Remolino of Go For Gold Tri Team, Jorry Ycong of Rider Omega Tri Team and Paul Jumamil of Bohol.
Actor Paul Jake Castillo will spice up the race as he is listed to take part in the standard race, which features 1.5-kilometer swim, 40K bike and 10K run.
The women’s division will have an equally strong field lead by the Marie Claire Adorna, who won gold in the 2015 Sea Games and silver last year.
One of Cebu’s top female triathletes Karen Manayon of Talisay City and Cianyl Jamae Gonzalez will also contend for the women’s title.
The race, organized by TSE Live Inc., is expecting about 300 triathletes who will compete for crowns in the elite division, age group classes and relay race. The elite champion will win P15,000, P10,000 for second place and P5,000 for third place.
The race was originally scheduled on Oct. 7 but was moved to Dec. 2, giving the City of Naga the time to recover from the devastating landslide that happened on Sept. 20, burying some of the mountainside houses. The landslide left 78 people dead. RSC