RIDER Omega Tri Team stamped its class as one of the best triathlon teams in the country after a dominant finish in the Asian Elite Male category of the Cobra Energy Drink IronMan 70.3 Philippines yesterday.
The Asian Elite Male triathletes of Rider Omega Tri Team took the top two slots with Banjo Norte taking this year’s title and Paul Jumamil finishing at second place at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa.
Norte clocked 4:35:51, six minutes ahead of Jumamil, who had a time of 4:41:35. Norte was the first one out of the water with a 30:59 time, followed by Jumamil a minute after. Jumamil then took the lead in the bike part of the race before Norte regained the lead in the run.
“I was ahead in the swim against the Asian Elite. I think I was ahead by one minute but me and my teammate Paul Jumamil were together. In the bike, I was third going into transition two. I slowed down my pace in the bike because my thighs started to cramp because of the strong wind. In the run, I did a negative split. At the start, I paced myself because I might run out of gas. In the last 7K of the run, I picked up the pace and overtook Jumamil,” said Norte, who won the Filipino Elite crown back in 2013.
“I can’t explain myself. I’m very happy that I got the first spot today after 2013 when I was the champion here. It has been a long time. Last year I finished fourth because I had cramps then right now at least I made up for it.”
Rider Omega Tri Team owner Paul Jake Castillo believes that the success was because of a total team effort.
“Everybody knows that triathlon is an individual sport, but we’re a team prior to it being an individual sport. You, yourself, you swim, you bike and then you run, no one else can help you. But before that the team is right behind the person who is doing the triathlon, that’s what the team is there for,” said Castillo. “Everyone trained for this. The team is just there for support. To give them motivational words, to push them.”
Joseph Miller ended up at third place with a time of 4:49:36, while last year’s Filipino Elite champion August Benedicto finished at sixth place, clocking in at 4:57:19.
Aussie Leanne Szeto, who was the only Asian Elite Female participant, clocked in at 5:16:01.
Meanwhile, foreign triathletes dominated the Age Group categories. Japanese Noburo Tsukahara won the men’s 70-74 with a time of 8:14:56. American Frank Ryan finished first in the men’s 65-69 at 7:08:58. Hong Kong’s Choi Ying Fong topped the women’s 60-64 at 7:09:42. Aussie Michael Dunstan took the top spot in the men’s 60-64 with a time of 6:30:51 and Mexican Ernesto Abeduh Delima ended up first in the men’s 55-59 at 5:34:28.
Japanese Mika Maeda clocked in first with a time of 7:06:29 in the Female Age Group 55-59. Filipino Nestor Gonzalez finished at the top of the men’s 50-54 at 5:26:57. Aussie Petro Kuiper won the women’s 50-54 with a time of 5:52:28. Canadian Todd Gilmore was the top finisher in the men’s 45-49 with a time of 4:50:30. Frenchwoman Anne Lavandon topped the women’s 45-49 at 5:48:30. Aussie Damien Jeffrey finished first in the men’s 40-44 with a time of 4:57:51. Aussie Jo Coombe bagged the title in the women’s 40-44 with a time of 5:27:39. Italian Timothy Cosulich won the men’s 35-39 at 4:26:54. Hong Kong’s Chow Chi Ngan crossed the finish line first in the women’s 35-39 with a time of 5:37:31. Russian Anton Samokhvalov topped the men’s 30-34 at 4:32:01. Singaporean Ling Er Choo won the women’s 30-34 with a time of 5:00:29. Brit Scott Leadbetter finished first place in the men’s 25-29 with a time of 4:46:18. Aussie Kate Vernon ended up at the top of the women’s 25-29 at 5:05:12. Filipino Jalal Masla topped the men’s 18-24 at 5:15:20. Cianyl Jam Gonzalez finished at the top of the women’s 18-24 with a time of 5:42:14.