THE City Government of Davao and Sunrise Events, Inc. have decided to move the 3rd Alveo Ironman 70.3 Davao on March 21, 2021 instead of pushing through with it on May 10 since the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be a pressing health concern not just in the Philippines but also in other parts of the globe.
This is the second postponement as the race was originally scheduled on March 22, 2020.
Sports Development Division of the City Mayor’s Office officer-in-charge Mikey Aportadera, in a Facebook Messenger interview on Friday evening, April 10, said, “Initially because of the advisory ni Mayor, from March, we thought of moving it to May pero kay dili pa mahuman ang problema sa Covid unya taas-taas pud preparations, next year nalang jud para dili na delikado sa tanan (We moved it from March to May due to the advisory of Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio but since the Covid-19 crisis has not yet settled and we need longer preparations for the race, we rescheduled it next year for the safety of everyone).”
He, however, expects a lower turnout of participants considering that triathletes also have to follow their own race calendars.
“Dili ta matingala ana (We won’t be surprised with that). We understand the triathletes,” he told Sun.Star Davao.
Organizer SEI general manager Princess Galura, in a Facebook chat interview, said registered participants were mostly understanding.
She said, “So far the people are aware that the mayor is just after the safety. This is good for Davao.”
She also said that if they push the race in the third or fourth quarter, Davao might have to compete with too many other races since a lot of events were also postponed and would experience a huge drop in entries.
“It’s better for Davao na nauna nang mag-plan for 2021. Mas nakakahiya if we move it to September then hindi pa rin matutuloy. We never know when Covid will end but we hope for the best,” she said, adding that Duterte-Carpio’s decision was a wise move.
With the Ironman 70.3 postponement, the Iron Girl Davao 2020 is also reset on March 19, 2021.
Organizers, in an advisory posted on the Alveo Ironman 70.3 Davao Facebook page, said, “We trust your kind understanding on the matter as we give priority to the health and safety of all our participants.”
The 2019 Ironman Davao turnout exceeded the 1,800 entries from 28 nations in the 2018 inaugural race.
In 2019, the Alveo Ironman 70.3 Davao attracted a total of 2,200 participants from 38 countries including United Arab Emirates, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Mexico, Ukraine, India, Malaysia, Qatar, the US, Belgium, Spain, Italy, New Caledonia, Singapore, South Africa, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, Korean, Norway, Thailand, Switzerland, Greece, Kuwait, New Zealand, Turkey, China, Guam, Mexico, Panama, Taiwan and the Philippines. Some of these countries currently have confirmed Covid-19 positive cases.