FILE–Ironman 70.3 winner Augusto Benedicto. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Top triathletes from here and around the world will again gather in Lapu-Lapu City on April 21 for the milestone 10th staging of the Ironman 70.3, an event which has become one of the most prestigious stops of the series every year.
Augusto Benedicto and Ines Santiago won the race the last time it was held in 2022, and close to 3,000 participants are again expected in a couple of weeks for the event recognized as the best spectator race globally in 2018, as the field vies for titles in various age categories.
Billed as the Crown Jewel of Asia, the IM 70.3 presented by Megaworld and Mactan Newtown will unfold across a challenging 1.9-kilometer swim, 90-km bike and 21-km run course.
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The 2022 race was notably enhanced by the inclusion of the CCLEX (Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway) bridge, the country’s longest and tallest bridge that added an iconic backdrop to the bike event of the competition.
That was the first bike race held at the P33-billion megastructure as the field made two runs at the bridge that has a peak of 476 feet above sea level.
Benedicto, the former ice delivery boy now based in Germany, won that race using borrowed equipment. The 2022 race also dangled World Championship slots to the winners, with Benedicto, who is married for the former Anna Stroh, passing up on it for lack of sponsors.