Nat’l triathlon trials fire off

Southeast Asian Games gold medalists Nikko Huelgas and Claire Adorna and silver winner Kim Mangrobang headline the Philippine National Triathlon Trials firing off Saturday in Iloilo City.

The national team standouts lead a 300-man field that will vie in the standard distance (1.5 km swim-40 km bike-10 km run) and the sprint (750m swim-20 km bike-6 km run).

Huelgas ruled the men’s event of the SEA Games before Adorna, a former swimming standout, completed a rare double gold for the country in Singapore with her triumph in the women’s race last June. Mangrobang made it a 1-2 finish for the Philippines.

The race starts on the beachfront of Joe II Garden followed by the bike leg around the city’s roads. The run transition will be along Benigno Aquino Street before finishing at the Esplanade.

Aimed at discovering fresh talents in the Visayas, the race is also part of Iloilo’s thrust to clean up the Iloilo River.

About P40,000 in cash prizes are at stake in the event co-organized by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines and the City Government of Iloilo headed by Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog. The top three winners on the age-group will be awarded medals and giftpacks. Cedelf P. Tupas