Cebuano Young Triathlete Gets Gold in Alaska Ironkid

Cebuano junior triathlete Yuan Chiongbian won another gold medal in the 5th edition of the Alaska Ironkid Philippines at the Shangrila’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City on Saturday.

The 14-year-old Chiongbian of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) brought his full arsenal for his last dance in the Ironkids Philippines, to dominate the 13 to 14 years old division a week after winning a gold in the Singapore International Triathlon 2015.

Chiongbian clocked 42 minutes and 50.7 seconds in the 400-meter swim, 12K bike and 3K to end his stint in the Ironkids Philippines, a junior version of Ironman Philippines for those 14 years old and below.

The 2014 Batang Pinoy gold medalist clocked 7:05 in the swim portion, completed the bike in 22:35 and had a time of 13:12 in the run.

He was neck-and-neck with Sabino Czar Manglicmot IV after the swim, but the Cebuano took over in transition to improve on his second-place finish last year.

“Just follow him and run the transition, keep the pace and balance it out,” said Chiongbian, when asked what he was thinking when Manglicmot was the first to come out of the water.

“In transition one, I started cycling and the next time I looked, he was not behind me anymore,” Chiongbian said.

Lucian Antonio Alejo placed second with a time of 45:51; he came out of the water in 8:13, finished the bike in 22:34 and registered a time of 15:06 in the run portion.

John Caleb Barlin salvaged third place in 45:53; he finished the swim part in 8:12, clocked 23:59 in the bike and finished the race with a 13:43 run.

Manglicmot completed the race in 46:51 for fourth place, while Joe Bernard Sarmiento got fifth place in 47:04.

Chiongbian said it feels really great to win two gold medals in two weeks and his training paid off for him.

“It just really feels great winning it on my last year. This year was more challenging because the route is much longer. I was not expecting my best coming on (today) because I recently raced in Singapore,” said Chiongbian, who was also a gold medalist in the 11 to 12 years old division in 2012.

His mother Millette said that it is a great feeling for parents to see their kids win gold medals.

She added Yuan deserves these titles because he works hard and is very disciplined in his training.

Chiongbian’s next race will be the National Duathlon Championships in September at the South Road Properties in Cebu City.

A member of developmental for PHL triathlon, he said that his greatest target in triathlon is to qualify for the Olympics.

Nicole Danielle Eijansantos, also a member of developmental PHL team, stamped her class in the Girls’ 13 to 14 years old for the second straight year.

Eijansantos, who hails from Quezon City, breasted the tape in 47:02; she had a time of 7:14 in the swim, 24:08 in the bike and 15:32 in the run.

Her closest pursuer was Karen Andrea Manayon, who was more than two minutes behind. Samantha Borlain got third place after crossing the finish line in 49:52.

Juan Francisco Baniqued won the Boys’ 11 to 12 years old in 33:54, and beat Bernard Miguel Sy (36:31) and Victor Andrew Boherom (36:33).

Baniqued was first to come out of the water, Sy was able to equalize the gap in the bike segment but the former dominated the run portion to accomplish a convincing win.

Tara Borlain (34:24) dominated the Girls’ 11 to 12 division and was even pacing with the boys. Catherine Angeli Yu (35:54) got second, while Cebuana stand out swimmer Raven Faith Alcoseba (37:07) pulled off a surprising third place finish after training only for weeks.

“I’m very happy because this is my first triathlon competition and I won. I did not expect to win because I only trained for a few weeks,” the 2014 Milo Little Olympics National Finals swimming event gold medalist said.

Alcoseba of Talisay City said that right now she will remain her focus on swimming competitions.

Lorayne Lencioco (27:09) bagged the Girls’ 9 to 10 years old title over Moira Frances Gabri Erediano (27:26) and Emma Bertel (29:41), while the top three in the Boys’ 9 to 10 division are Justin Christopher Yu (27:43), Vince Joaquin (28:03) and Xeemon Villo Cuyos (28:37).

Michael Gabriel Lozada (18:03) shone on the boys’ 6 to 8 years old, Juan Alessandro Suarez got second in 18:32 and Ythnmthw Orellana won third in 19:06. The girls’ division top three are Chelsea Faith Minoza (18:20), Maria Michaela Recilla (18:22) and Franchezka Borlain (19:24).

In the relay division, Team TLTG 2 (18:03) won the title over Team TLTG 1 (21:09) and TRI-ME (22:39) placed third.

The 2015 edition of Alaska Ironkids Philippines in Cebu had the most number of participants in the event’s five-year history with 189 participants.

Blen Fernando, the Alaska Milk Corporation vice president for marketing, said that they will make the event much better every year.

“We will not rest on our recent achievements and we will look to improve this every year,” said Fernando. (PNA) SCS/EB/MP/PJN