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[av_heading heading=’Nat’l champs Banatao, Abad reign in ‘Race for Iloilo River’ ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By ADRIAN STEWART CO
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ILOILO CITY – The city’s Iloilo River Esplanade was invaded by primed athletes from all over the country on Sunday for the 2016 National Duathlon Championships: “Race for Iloilo River” with JarwynBanatao and national team member Mirasol Abad emerging victorious in the men’s and women’s division, respectively,of the prestigious event.
The Baguio City-native Banatao ruled the men’s side after scoring a huge upset over early favorite Emmanuel Comendador of Bohol with his superb bike performance to leave his pursuers going into Transition 2 with a 4-minute gap.
Banatao was in a tight spot with Comendador and RequiTrupa in the first 8.5 km run leg but managed to pull away from his competitors in the 40 km bike segment and finished the final 6.5 km run leg in 2 hours, 17 seconds.
Comendador, who suffered from stomach cramps while trying to reach Banatao in the bike leg, was at distant second with 2:04:28, while JolanOlmilla of Cebu ranked third at 2:04:59.
Abad, meanwhile, survived a huge challenge from MiscelleGilbuena to retain the women’s crown with a winning time of2:22:47. Gilbuena was at second with 2:23:36 while Iloilo’s Alexandra Dumaran finished third at 2:30:13.
National aquathlon champion Andrew Kim Remolino ruled the sprint distance Junior Elite race (19-under) when he scored a photo finish win over John Caleb Barlin while Karen Andrea Manayon scored an easy win on the girls’ side.
In the sprint 20-over race, JelsieSabado edged youth standout Vicky Deldio while JeroJaro Matthew had an easy victory over Ronald Egaran in the race organized for the redevelopment of the Iloilo river.
“We wanted to highlight the Iloilo river as part of our advocacy to a clean environment. The hosting of the said event is part of the sports tourism campaign of Iloilo City,” explains city sports coordinator Romel “Jojo” Castro. “The Iloilo riverwas highlighted in the event, with Esplanade 1 and 2 forming part of the race course”
The event was made possible through the partnership of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines with the Iloilo City government.
This marks the second consecutive year that Iloilo hosted the national duathlon event. Last year, John Chicano trumped reigning Southeast Asian Games triathlon king Nikko Huelgas, emerging victorious in the 2015 Philippine Duathlon Championships held in the city./PN
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