Former welder assembles dramatic time trial triumph

TAGAYTAY—A nightmarish start ended in a blaze of glory for Filipino bet Jermyn Prado.

Nearly disqualified for using a bike specifically used for triathlon races, Prado shook off distractions to reign supreme in the women’s Individual Time Trial of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games that started in Nasugbu, Batangas, and ended in the Prayer Hands Monument on Thursday.

The 26-year-old Prado, a single mother to 8-year-old Princess Jaydee, saw her warmup time shortened to just 10 minutes as team officials removed a couple of contraptions before she was allowed to use her bike.

“At first, I thought this wasn’t the SEA Games debut that I imagined,” said the former welder from Pagbilao, Quezon, who was already in tears minutes before she was flagged off.

“But I think God had a way to make things happen for me,” added Prado, who will also compete in the road race on Friday.

Pedaling at a pace of nearly 31 kilometer per hour, Prado found her bearings at the 10-kilometer mark approaching Tagaytay and finished the 23.1-km course in 44 minutes, 44.742 seconds.

Then came the agonizing wait as 10 other riders tried to beat her time.

“It was really tough because I didn’t have enough warmup time because of the problems with my bike,” said Prado.

Prado said Philippine team officials thought using the triathlon bike which had contraptions that had aerodynamic effects were legal as they had seen in races overseas.

Another option for the Filipino bets was to use a road bike without the aerobars.

Competition manager Lorenzo Lomibao said the panel of commissaires allowed the Filipino riders to use their bikes provided they remove at least two contraptions.