INQUIRER Sports

PILI, CAMARINES SUR — THE chief backer of the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines sees a bright future for Filipinos in the sport of triathlon.

Alaska Milk Corporation president and CEO Wilfred Steven Uytengsu said it doesn’t discriminate on size, which makes it ideal for average built Filipinos.

“This is not a sport where you need to be 7-foot-2,” said Uytengsu. “We don’t need to be tall to be competitive in triathlon. So I think it’s a couple of things like having the training access, discipline and a lot of guts.”

Uytengsu made mention of 2008 ITU Triathlon world champion Francisco Javier Gomez of Spain who stands 5-foot-10 and has also won several Triathlon World Cup titles.

The youthful Alaska boss is also organizing and competing in the Ironman 70.3 Philippines tournament this Sunday at the CamSur Watersports Complex in this province.

Uytengsu however believes it will still take some time and several more locally organized triathlon events before the country produces several topnotch triathletes.

He added the country’s governing body, the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) is doing its best to reach that goal.

Triathlon made its Olympic debut in the 2000 Sydney Games with Canadian Simon Whitfield, who stands 5-9, winning the sport’s first ever Olympic men’s gold.

The Ironman triathlon will feature longer distances than its Olympic counterpart, with the 1.9-km swim divided into two legs; a 90.1-km bike course with the scenic Mt. Isarog serving as backdrop and a 21.1-km run divided into two counter clockwise loops.