Young triathletes resume chase for AYG slots

THE FOURTH of five qualifying races for the country’s triathlon athletes for the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China, this August will be held on April 27 as an appetizer to the K-Swiss Subic Bay ASTC Asian Triathlon Championship at Subic Bay Freeport.

Philippine Olympic Committee chair Tom Carrasco, also the president of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines, said the top two boys and girls with the highest number of points after the five races will compete in the AYG set Aug. 16 to 24.

The AYG is the continental qualifier for the 2014 Youth Olympics, which is also set in Nanjing late next year.

“We’re seriously looking at the Youth Olympic Games and how our triathletes could get there,” said Carrasco. “If we can make it to the Games, it means our athletes have what it takes to qualify in the Olympics someday.”

Meanwhile, top triathletes from Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Uzbekistan, China, Hong Kong and 13 other countries are competing in the three-day Asian Championship.

Japan, a force in the Asian circuit, will bring in 47 competitors, China 40 and Korea 23 in the Elite competition, which is made up of the 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-km bike and 10-km run.

Carrasco, an executive board member of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) who also sits as vice president of the Asian Triathlon Confederation, said about 1,000 participants are taking part in the race where P600,000 in prize money will be at stake in 10 categories, including the Junior Elite, under-23 and Elite classes.