Rain or shine, race to flag off as scheduled

Rains will not stop 2,150 triathletes from competing in the 2013 IronMan 70.3 Philippines which kicks off early this morning from the shores of Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City.

Race organizer Sunrise Events Inc. (SEI) said through a text message that there will be “no changes. Contingencies are in place, in case needed.”
A sudden thunderstorm yesterday prompted the cancellation of fun races of children in the 6 to 8 years old and 9 to 10 years old categories of the IronKids Triathlon.

There will be 23 athletes competing in the professional category which includes Monica Torres, the first Filipina to compete in the premier category.
A total of 24 will be vying for the All-Filipino Elite title while 21 were listed in the new CEO category headed by Wilfred Steven Uytengsu, CEO and president of Alaska and SEI.

The rest of the participants were listed in the age-group and relay categories.

World-renowned Filipino-American rapper apl.de.ap of the Grammy Award-winning Black Eyed Peas will be the biggest star t to see action today. He will be part of the all-male relay team Team Apl.

The first wave which will consist of the pros, All-Filipino elites and CEOs will be flagged off at 6:25 a.m., the second wave for the age group 18 to 39 male and relays will be let go at 6:30 while the rest of the male 40 and over and the women will follow at 6:40.

Participants will set out to conquer the lung-busting 1.9 kilometer swim from Shangri-La to Portofino to Movenpick and back to the host resort. They will then take the 90-kilometer bike ride from Lapu-Lapu to the cities of Mandaue, Cebu and Talisay then back to Lapu-Lapu for the 21-kilometer run along five mainland barangays of the city.

Three-time time champion Pete Jacobs of Australia will be back to defend his title.

Jacobs became the IronMan World Champion last year and made no secret that the IronMan 70.3 Philippines helped him a lot in preparing for the Kona championships.
He will go up against first-time participant Chris “Macca” McCormack who is a two-time world champion.

“It is fantastic to be back here. The field is getting stronger. I’m not sure I am liking it but it is good for the competition,” Jacobs said.
McCormack said he was surprised by the strong field that the race has attracted.

“I am going to use this as a stepping stone for my preparation. You’ve got so much talent here. Pete (Jacobs) is getting better and better here every year,” said McCormack.

He joked that another goal was to wrest the title from his compatriot, Jacobs.

For the female athletes, defending champion Caroline Steffen and two-time Philippine Ironman champion Belinda Granger will be going up against each other.

ALL-FILIPINO
Defending Filipino elite champion August Benedicto is up to the challenge to face Cebuano male triathletes in the Filipino Elite division.
Cebuano Mendel Lopez and John Philip Dueñas will try to dethrone Benedicto for the coveted title. Adding excitement in the division is the appearance of former Filipino elite champions Noy Jopson and Arland Macaseib.

Alaska Team TBB’s young cadets, Dhill Anderson and last year’s seventh placer in the division, Banjo Norte will try their wits against the above-mentioned contenders in the male division. Anderson who is a former multi-titled swimmer showed potential in triathlon after finishing strong in last year’s Century Tuna 5150 in Subic.

Leah Coline Langit is considered the top contender in the division after Monica Torres rose up to the tougher challenge in the pro elite division.
However, Alaska Team TBB’s Jenny Rose Guerrero who was a silver medalist in the swimming event of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur in 2001 takes the challenge against Langit for the crown.

Cebuana triathlon princess Rochelle Tan will be in a tough situation as she goes up against Langit and Guerrero today. Tan is a former XTerra Filipino Elite female division champion.

Joining the three contenders of the Filipino elite division is Ani Brown who will try to improve her sixth place finish last year. /CORRESPONDENT DALE G. ROSAL and MARS G. ALISON