Women’s triathlon gold medalist Kim Mangrobang. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/SEA GAMES POOL
KUALA LUMPUR — No rest for newly crowned triathlon royalties Nikko Huelgas and Marion Kim Mangrobang.
After ruling the Southeast Asian Games competitions, they are expected to resume their training in hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
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Mangrobang, who is training in Portugal under coach Sergio Santos, is expected to fly back to her Rio Maiaor training camp.
Nikko Huelgas. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/SEA GAMES POOL
Huelgas is training under his Australian coach Brett Sutton.
Both of them, according to Triathlon Association of the Philippines, have already been identified by team experts to have the best physical and psychological attributes to qualify for the Olympics.
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They will be entered in World Cup in Doha and another big tournament in Hong Kong by year end to gather as many world ranking points as possible.
Mangrobang is now ranked 157th in the world, the highest for a Filipino, but is expected to rise further.
“Our next big stop is the Asian Games,” said Trap secretary general Tom Carrasco.