Benedicto turns back clock in Subic Bay

August Benedicto—MUSONG R. CASTILLO

August Benedicto came out of the water with a big gap to overhaul, and the ageless wonder dug as deep as anyone could to win the Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay over a young, stunned field that the 42-year-old left biting his dust in the run stage.

“I came out of the water with a big gap to close,” said Benedicto, who last won in Cebu in 2022. “I knew I had to empty the tank on the bike (stage) just to put myself back in contention, especially during that brutal final climb.”

Now based in Ireland, Benedicto clocked four hours, 40 minutes and 38 seconds for the 1.9-kilometer swim, 90-km. bike and 21-km run event that attracted participants from 45 countries.

Russian Ilya Fedorov was second in 4:41:50, with Iceland’s Geir Omarsson checking in third in 04:44:49.

While Benedicto rekindled lost glory, Bea Quiambao won a third straight event in the women’s division, handily beating Mitsuki Tanaka-Tan of Japan and Anne Nuñez, who arrived second and third, in that order.

After triumphs in Davao and later on Camiguin, Quiambao stays unbeaten this year after returning a time of 5:37:14 for a hattrick in the event organized by Sunrise Events, Inc.

Tanaka-Tan timed 05:37:21, while Nuñez arrived almost two minutes behind the Japanese ace.

“The race went well, but it was incredibly exhausting,” Quiambao said in Filipino.