John Leerams Chicano, Kim Mangrobang, Claire Adorna and Spanish-Filipino Fernando Casares flash the Philippine flag after dominating the triathlon mix relay event in the 30th SEA Games in Subic. INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Just in time before the storm kicked in, Filipino athletes completed their domination of the triathlon competition in the 30th Southeast Asian Games here on Monday.
The mixed team relay, a new event on the SEA Games calendar, was the icing on the victory cake of the Filipino triathletes. After John “Rambo’’ Chicano and Kim Remolino finished 1-2 in the men’s individual event, Kim Mangrobang and Kim Kilgroe duplicated the feat in the women’s event.
Chicano, the runner-up in 2017, later anchored the Philippine team to victory in the mixed team relay with the help of Mangrobang, Fernando Casares and 2015 gold women’s medalist Claire Adorna.
Three golds and two silvers are the best possible result any team can achieve in this year’s edition of the SEA Games.
The mixed relay was the most watched event of the triathlon competitions. It called for each triathlete doing a minisprint triathlon (340 meters, 6.6-kilometer bike and 1.8-km run) with the anchor needing to run an extra 200 meters to the finish line.
Although it was a one-sided win for the Filipinos, it was the most spectator-friendly and most exciting to watch because of the short distances covered by each triathlete.
Philippine team coach Ani de Leon said the International Triathlon Union is promoting the event as a possible addition to the Olympic program.
“We’re on track,’’ said Triathlon Association of the Philippines president Tom Carrasco, who had been looking beyond the 30th SEA Games to pursue the association’s ambitious plan to put a Filipino in the Olympic triathlon competitions.
The next stops, he said, are the strong Asia Cup events in China and Korea in late April next year.
“We hope Kim Mangrobang gets a slot to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo,’’ he said.
To earn that slot, Mangrobang must earn qualifying points in championships worldwide, including the continental cups in Europe, Asia and Africa. INQ