IRONMAN 70.3 Davao celebrates diversity, honors 11 tribes

DAVAO CITY – The IRONMAN 70.3 Davao Philippines will highlight not only the endurance and skill of elite athletes but also the spirit of team competition when it kicks off this Sunday (Aug. 11).

The event, organized by The IRONMAN Group Philippines and the host city and powered by Aboitiz, brings back the 11-man Team Maisugon competition to honor the city’s 11 tribes, offering a winner-takes-all prize of P500,000.

This special category is open to teams of at least 11 age-groupers, irrespective of age and gender, participating in the IRONMAN 70.3 Davao. The team with the fastest total time will win the coveted Tribu Maisugon award, including a perpetual trophy handcrafted by renowned local artist Kublai Millan.

Team points will be calculated based on the top 11 scores within each team, and they must wear the same kit with the team name displayed. While active national members can compete, each Tribu may only include one active national team member.

The Tribu Maisugon event honors the 11 tribes of Davao City: Ata, Maguindanaon, Matigsalug, Bagobo Klata, Maranao, Obo Manuvu, Bagobo-Tagabawa, Tasug, Sama, Iranun, and Kagan. This reflects the host city’s commitment to showcasing diversity.

In addition, the event will feature a Team Tents Competition, judged on overall booth design/appearance (35 percent), athlete support and availability (25 percent), cleanliness (20 percent), and creativity and compliance (20 percent). Prizes for the top three teams are P10,000, P5,000, and P3,000, respectively.

The challenging 1.9k swim-90k bike-21k run race over a championship course will also contest titles in relay all-male, relay all-female, and relay mixed categories. The event has attracted over a thousand participants globally, including former champions Petr Lukosz from the Czech Republic and Eric van der Linden.

Top triathletes from 32 other nations, including Japan, Singapore, Australia, Great Britain, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, Germany, China, and the US, will compete for the overall championship and their respective age-group categories from 18-24 to 75 and above.