Aussies dominate anew Century Tuna triathlon
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT–The racers from Down Under climbed back to the top.
Australia completed a sweep for the second straight year as Luke McKenzie shattered the two-hour barrier to capture the men’s pro crown and Belinda Granger defended her women’s pro title in the Century Tuna 5150 Triathlon Philippines here yesterday.
Bucking a tough start in the swim leg, McKenzie conquered the the punishing distance of 1.5K swim-40K bike-10K run in one hour, 59 minutes and 25 seconds to emerge as the overall winner and the lone triathlete to finish under two hours.
Granger, though, virtually cruised through her back-to-back feat as the 42-year-old veteran finished seven minutes ahead of her closest pursuer with a time of 2:17.33.
“Compared to last year’s race, nothing was difficult,” said Granger. “This was probably the easiest condition I’ve ever had in the Philippines since I started racing here.”
John Leerams Chicano again turned up as the best Filipino finisher, clocking 2:09.45 to replicate his fifth overall ranking last year. Monica Torres topped the women’s side at 2:28.19.
McKenzie, who competed for the first time in the country, lagged behind runners-up Ben Allen (2:02.40) and Michael Murphy (2:05.46) in the swim leg, but made up for it in the bike event, where he came out almost a minute ahead.
“The most difficult for me was the swim, I just didn’t feel comfortable at all,” said the 31-year-old McKenzie. “I started well but it felt really long. I was just happy to get out. The bike course was really challenging, it’s very technical. We were lucky it didn’t rain.”
But stealing the show were differently-abled athletes Arnel Aba, Godfrey Taberna and Sixto Ducay, whose team captured the men’s relay championship over 12 other able-bodied groups.
Aba (a one-legged swimmer), Taberna ( a cyclist born with a right club foot) and Ducay (a runner with a polio-stricken arm) banded anew to form the Wetshop Para Tri Team and remarkably finished seven minutes ahead of the runner-up with a time of 2:23.47.
“We just really want to inspire more disabled athletes,” said Aba, whose team settled for second place in the same event last year. /inquirer
