Celebrities get slice of action in Ironman Cebu
Ford Forza Triathlon team. Photo by Mark Giongco
Stars will be converging in Cebu this weekend, not just to grace the event, but also partake in the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines.
Celebrity triathletes Matteo Guidicelli, Paul Jake Castillo, Bubbles Paraiso, Dyan Castillejo and Kim Atienza will all be participating in the 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21km run event.
Other stars like Piolo Pascual (bike), Gerald Anderson (bike), Jake Cuenca (bike), Enchong Dee (swim), Gretchen Fullido (swim), and Kim Chiu (run) will be engaging in individual legs as part of their relay teams.
The celebrities, who took the time out of their hectic schedules and become ambassadors for healthy lifestyle, are just part of more than 2,600 triathletes from a record 51 countries who applied and will race on Sunday which will start and end at Shangrila-La Mactan Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City.
Tim Reed and Dimity-Lee Duke, both from Australia, lead the elite pro side which are out for the top purse of $5,000 each in the men’s and women’s divisions.
Reed clocked 3:51:46 to win the Cebu tilt last year.
Joining the men’s fray are Regent 5150 Subic winner Sam Betten, Tim Van Berkel, David Mainwaring, Alexander Polizzi and Luke Bell of Australia, Mauricio Mendez of Mexico, Brent McMahon of Canada, Kiwis Cameron Brown, Braden Currie, Eddie Rawles and Callum Millward of New Zealand, Americans Brad Williams and Iain Alexandridis, Czech Jakub Langhammer, Johan Stofberg of South Africa, Italian Jonathan Ciavatella, and Eric Watson of Bahrain.
Meanwhile, the women’s race is emerging to be a crowded one, with Jacqueline Thisleton, Alise Selsmark, Kirra Seidel, Monica Juhart and Kerry Mulholland, Hungarian Anna Eberhardt, New Zealand’s Amelia Watkinson and Filipina bet Kim Kilgroe all out to claim the tiara.
The weekend is going to be an action-packed one, with the staging of the IronGirl, a 5km fun run for females 12 years old and above, scheduled on Friday and the Alaska IronKids on Saturday.
