Filipino triathlon champion Ines Santiago is set to defend her crown as the Century Tuna Full Ironman gets off the ground alongside the Ironman 70.3 in the country’s premier triathlon hub in Subic Bay, where over a hundred berths for three World Championships will be at stake.
The 41-year-old Negrense clinched a wire-to-wire victory last year in the women’s Ironman 70.3 held in Cebu, finishing in 12 hours, 13 minutes and 27 seconds.
Czech Petr Lukosz, last year’s Ironman PH gold medalist, meanwhile, is still out of the roster of entries.
The premier endurance race, which kicks off on June 11, stakes 50 slots for the Nice, France, world meet on Sept. 10. Another 25 spots for the Kona, Hawaii, championship on Oct. 14 is there for the taking for the top finishers of the grueling 3.8-kilometer (km) swim, 180-km bike and 42-km run Full Ironman race, the organizing The Ironman Group/Sunrise Events, Inc. (SEI) said.
Another 30 spots for the World Championship in Lahti, Finland, on Aug. 26 to 27 is also up for grabs in the equally challenging 1.9-km swim, 90-km bike and 21-km run (Ironman 70.3) tilt, paving the way for the most number of world championship slots ever offered in local Ironman races.