Cebuano Finishes Third In Subic Ironman 70.3

Cebuano Jorry Ycong took advantage of his strength to finish at third place in the Filipino elite division of the Century Tuna Ironman 70.3 at the Subic Bay Exhibition Center on Sunday.

The 25-year-old running coach of the University of San Carlos in Cebu City was at seventh place after the bike portion but recovered enough ground in the running portion to finish at third place in four hours, 35 minutes and 48 seconds.

He was 15 minutes off winner Augusto Benedicto, who won the 2015 edition when it was held in Cebu City, and just three minutes behind second placer Benjamin Rana.

Benedicto finished the event in 4:20:15, while Rana got second place in 4:33:38.

Banjo Norte of Rider Omega Pro team of Cebu, finished at fourth place in 4:42:50, while Joseph Miller was at fifth in 4:44:19.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to get third place in this race. The training paid off,” Ycong said.

Ycong overtook another Cebuano, Kristiane Lim, in the final seven kilometers.

He was third among the Filipino elites to finish the swim portion in 28:38 but fell to seventh after taking 2:27:36 in the 90-kilometer bike portion.

He made up for it with a strong finish of 1:36:19 in the21-kilometer run event.

Benedicto also had a strong run finish for his victory.

After taking 30:53 in theswim segment, he got the lead with 2:16:57 in the bike segement and 1:29:47 in the running segment.

In the women’s division, Monica Torres won the title in 4:39:45, beating Maria Hodges, who finished second in 5:16:20, and Ani Karina Brown, who got third place in 6:43:03.

In the pro division, Craig Alexander won the event in 3:48:56,beating Patrick Lange and Tim Reed. Lange posted a time of 3:50:45, and Reed got third in 3:52:28.

In the women’s division, Caroline Steffen won the title in 4:09:40, while Radka VOdickova was a distant second in 4:14:51.

Dimitry-Lee Duke got third place in 4:23:52. (PNA) LAP/EB/MP/EDS