Albarote gets slice of Ironman glory

A BIG segment of the 2,600-strong starting field gets ready for the swim leg of the Ironman 70.3 Triathlon in Lapu-Lapu City Sunday. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

LAPU-LAPU CITY—Lezette Albarote broke the Australians’ stranglehold in the age-group races of the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines here Sunday.

Albarote joined the winners’ circle dominated by the racers from Down Under after topping the female 40-44 category in five hours, 29 minutes and 35 seconds.

Anna Marissa Remigio (5:38:26) placed second and Jeynelle Lee finished third (5:51:12) in the 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike, 21 km run event that kicked off and ended at Shangri-La Mactan here.

Sandra Reid (female 55-59) and Justin Ghosh (male 18-24) joined Australia’s eight-division victory parade headlined by the 1-2 finish of Tim Reed and Tim Van Berkel in the Pro category.

Reid clocked 5:44:49 to beat Filipino Agnes Tinsay (6:50:33) while Ghosh retained his title with a time of 4:18:19 after trouncing Marvin Santiago delos Santos (4:36:27).

Also emerging victorious for the world-class Aussies were Jaimielle Jacobs (female 30-34), Assad Attamimi (male 40-44), Lisa Redmond (female 45-49), Roger Hastie (male 45-49), Daniel Hyams (male 50-54) and Graham Crocker (male 65-69).

Britain’s Lyndsey Fraser (female 25-29), David Watson (male 30-34) and Joanne Plumbley (female 35-39) also grabbed their share of the limelight.

The other age-group champions were Mika Shito of Japan in female 18-24 (5:26:49), Anton Samokhvalov of Russia in male 25-29 (4:25:17), Colin O’ Shea of Ireland in male 35-39 (4:21:59), Khina Ong of Singapore in female 50-54 (6:37:58), Ernesto Adelina of Mexico in male 55-59 (5:24:13) and Lee Harkleroad of the United States in male 60-64 (6:59:09).

August Benedicto (Filipino male Elite) and Monica Torres (Filipino female Elite) also shone in the race that drew 2,618 entries from all over the world.

Next year’s Ironman Asia-Pacific 70.3 Championship is expected to attract an even bigger field, according to organizer Sunrise Events Inc.

The highly successful event was supported by Ford Philippines and Summit Mineral Water.