NICOLE Rojo announced her arrival as a rising force in Philippine triathlon, emerging as the first Filipina finisher in the IRONMAN 70.3 Lapu-Lapu while multi-titled Irienold Reig Jr. continued his remarkable run of form with another age-group victory in Cebu last Sunday.
Rojo, who has built her credentials through a string of victories in smaller endurance races, finally delivered a breakthrough performance on a major stage, clocking 5:15:27 over the grueling 1.9-km swim, 90-km bike and 21-km run course.
She got off to a strong start in the swim and sustained her charge through the bike and run legs, posting split times of 19:16 in the swim, 2:59:38 on the bike and 1:49:37 in the run.
The performance enabled the South Cotabato native to pull away from Melona Yucot, who finished in 6:06:54, and Rachel Wong (7:38:52) to dominate the women’s 18-24 age-group division in the 12th staging of the premier endurance race presented by Megaworld and organized by Sunrise Events Inc.
Reig, meanwhile, further cemented his status as one of the country’s most promising young triathletes, ruling the men’s 18-24 division in 4:23:03 on splits of 18:24, 2:26:00 and 1:32:49.
He beat Dutchman Rik Beugel, who clocked 4:34:28, while fellow Filipino Eryk Omandam placed third in 4:45:41.
The victory came months after Reig also topped the IRONMAN 70.3 Davao, giving further weight to the Quezon City standout’s emergence as a potential next big name in Philippine triathlon. His back-to-back victories also underscored the consistency of his form against strong fields.
Jewin Ochea provided another local highlight, capturing the Elite Category title put up by the Philippine Sports Commission in 4:26:10. He registered splits of 20:09 in the swim, 2:27:55 on the bike and 1:32:38 in the run. TMT
The specialized Elite Category featured top-tier athletes, including members of the national pool and teams as well as high-performing local elites, placing them in a separate division from the standard age-group competition while running parallel to the international professional fields.
