ARIS Angelo Lico, in sharp form this time, emerged the runaway winner of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Aquathlon yesterday at Philsports Complex in Pasig City.
The 17-year-old Lico, who finished fifth last year, submitted the best time of 36 minutes and 29 seconds in the 2K run-1K swim-2.5K run to capture the overall crown aside from copping the gold medal in the 16-19 age group.
Despite claiming he had little time to prepare, Lico finished over a minute ahead of closest pursuer Jose Arcega, who checked in at 37:37.
Alex Carinan, the winner in the over-30 age group, wound up third overall in 38:21.
“I was not that confident of winning because this is exam week in school,” said Lico, a senior high school student at Colegio San Agustin in Biñan, Laguna. “I just did my best and I’m happy with my performance.”
Other age group winners were Patrick John Ramirez in the 20-24 bracket (43:48 minutes), Carlo Pena Chua in 25-29 (48:26), Japanese Keita Hasegawa in 40-44 (40:02), Gabriel Anaya in 45-49 (44:47) and Eduardo Francisco Jr. in over-50(44:07).
In the female division, Pamela Banawa prevailed in 25-34 (1:23:36), Jossette Tanghal in 35-44 (55:16) and Rosalina Joson in over- 45 (50:26).
A total of 92 aquatheles participated in the race backed by Gatorade, Asian Centre for Insulation Philippines, Standard Insurance and Triathlon Association of the Philippines.
The event also drew young racers in the SuperTri Kids division where Everly Janarie Macalalad, Nicole Eijansantos and Jose Nobles IV clinched top honors.