Benedicto aims for more after another Ironman trophy

August Benedicto wins the 2017 Century Tuna Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay Asian male elite category. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

SUBIC — Despite adding another Ironman 70.3 title to his already stacked trophy case, August Benedicto remains hungry as he strives to improve his craft.

“My target is to cut down my time in the swim course. Swimming is really my weak point, but maybe one day, it will no longer be,” Benedicto said in Filipino.

Benedicto once again ruled the Asian male elite category of the Century Tuna Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay here on Sunday, handily beating his foes as he clocked in at 4:22:45.

Though elated with the result, his swim time was the first thing he looked at in the result sheet as he lagged behind his foes in the 1.9-kilometer swim course, finishing the leg in 30:30, a full two minutes and a half behind top finisher Ronald Molit.

Still, the result was already a big improvement considering where Benedicto came from before he addressed his weaknesses.

“I really improved my swim. Before, there’s a huge gap in my swim time to the foreigners, but now, I think I’m getting better at it,” he said.

Benedicto’s slow swim time didn’t matter though, as he thrived in the bike course as he finished the track in just 2:24:58 before leaving the pack behind in the run course with a time of 1:26:55, 13 minutes ahead of his closest opposition. 

However, Benedicto is still far from content as he seeks to get to the pro level.

“I’ll continue preparing for these kinds of races so I can contend with the foreigners,” he said.