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Powerman Philippines Asian Chammpionship

Posted by on 10. October 2017
Thomas Bruins leading the pack in the Powerman Duathlon

Thomas Bruins leading the pack in the Powerman Duathlon

Powerman Philippines Asian Championship showcased Philippine duathletes on a global scale last October 8, 2017 at Clark Freeport Zone,  Pampanga.  Local bets showed that the future is bright on the world level as they showed that they can be at par with the world’s best.

Powerman Asian Championship

Part of the media team for Powerman Philippines Asian Championship

There’s a big difference when you run a race and when you cover one.  When you’re on the race, it’s all about your journey from start to finish. I did have a lot of journey with duathlons having finished several races a few years ago.  Covering Powerman Duathlon was both an enticement for me to try again and also an appreciation of how duathlon has grown in the country.  It’s a race on its own and it was nice seeing elite and world class duathletes racing on local shores.  It’s even more heartwarming seeing our local bets hold their own against the best in the world.

There’s so much stories that happens in a race and when you cover one, you get a glimpse of all these stories.  There’s the heartbeat-stopping moments watching the elites outrace each other.  There’s the journey of the age-groupers which ranges from the newbie, celebrity, experienced and the veteran duathletes.

The Elites

The elites were the first to have their gun start at exactly 6:15 am for the Classic Elite that had them navigating the roads of Clark and SCTEX for 10 kilometers of running, 60 kilometers of cycling and another 10 kilometers of running.  It was a exciting to watch the elites blitz the race course but at the end of the race, it was Australian’s Thomas Bruins and Matt Smith finishing 1-2 in the Classic Elite Division. The Philippines’ own Emmanuel Commendador finished 3rd in the event.  For the Female Classic Elite, Miscelle Gilbuena of the Philippines was the top finisher, followed by Alexandra Mcdougall of Australia for 2nd place and Rowena Valdez for 3rd place.

For the Men’s Short Elite, which was a 5K run, 30K Bike and 5K run, Jarwyn Banatao of the Philippines placed first, followed by Jason Loh of Malaysia and Cipriane John Topia of the Philippines.  Airi Sawada of Japan topped the Female Short Elite category followed by Bic Ferreria of the Philippines.

The Age Groupers

Having friends in the multisports community, it was really exciting to watch the Age Groupers go at it for both the short and classic categories.  It was also nice to note that I had friends in the Podium. Charlle Sy of Fitness First Tri was the first for the 30-34 age group for the Female Classic Category.  Icar Hiponia of Team Smart was first for the 25-29 age group for the Female Short Category.  Tiff Batillo Santos was first for the 35-39 age group for the Female Short Category.

Jake Cuenca finishes strong in the Male Short Categoty

Celebrities also came to play and also had strong finishes.  Jake Cuenca and Kim Chiu finished strong in their respective distace while Aubrey Miles and Troy Montero was able to finish third in the mixed relay for the Classic Category.  It’s nice to see celebrities also share the love for the sport.

Powerman World Championships

Aside from a being a scenic run-bike-run tour of Clark and SCTEX, the event is also a qualifying event for the Powerman World Championships.

  “It’s all about investing in the Filipino duathlete’s potential, pushing their boundaries, and expanding their competitive horizons with the ultimate goal of sending our top Filipino duathlete to the Powerman World Championships,” said Powerman Philippines’ general manager, Coach Kaye Lopez.

Powerman Asian Championship showcased the Filipino duathlete is world class and the future of duathlon is indeed bright for the country.  We have elite athletes who can be at par with the world’s best. 

The event is presented by Summit Natural Drinking Water.  The event is backed by Clark Freeport Zone and NLEX-SCTEX as Official Venue Partners, Cobra Energy Drink as Official Energy Drink, Official Sports Nutrition Partner Unilab ActiveHealth, Official Timing Partner Garmin, Official Footwear Partner Skechers Performance, and Event Partners Seafood Island Restaurant, Hammer Nutrition, 2XU, Dan’s Endurance, Cycles & Brew by Hubble, Starbucks Coffee, Pace Prehab and Recovery, WattUp Cycling, Hotel Stotsenberg, Lohas Hotel, and Fontana Leisure Park.

For details, visit www.powerman.ph and follow @powermanph on social media or follow them on Facebook, Instagram and twitter @powermanph official hashtags: #NoManNoPower, #PowermanPH, #PowermanPHPresentedBySummit.

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