Rojo breaks through, Reig stays hot at Ironman 70.3 Lapu-Lapu
Nicole Rojo
LAPU-LAPU CITY — Nicole Rojo emerged as the first Filipina finisher in Ironman 70.3 Lapu-Lapu, while Irienold Reig Jr. continued his impressive form with another age-group victory Sunday in Cebu.
Rojo, who built her credentials through a string of victories in smaller endurance races, delivered her breakthrough on a major stage with an overall time of 5 hours, 15 minutes and 27 seconds.
Strong currents forced organizers to shorten the swim for age-group competitors from the scheduled 1.9 kilometers to 1 kilometer, while the 90-kilometer bike and 21-kilometer run distances were retained.
The South Cotabato native recorded splits of 19:16 in the swim, 2:59:38 on the bike and 1:49:37 in the run.
Rojo’s consistent performance across all three legs allowed her to dominate the women’s 18-24 division.
Melona Yucot finished second in 6:06:54, while Rachel Wong placed third in 7:38:52.
The race was the 12th staging of the premier endurance event presented by Megaworld and organized by Sunrise Events Inc.
Reig strengthened his reputation as one of the country’s most promising young triathletes by ruling the men’s 18-24 division in 4:23:03.
The Quezon City standout posted splits of 18:24 in the swim, 2:26:00 on the bike and 1:32:49 in the run.
Dutchman Rik Beugel finished second in 4:34:28, while Filipino Eryk Omandam took third in 4:45:41.
Reig’s victory came months after he also topped Ironman 70.3 Davao, giving him back-to-back wins against strong age-group fields.
Jewin Ochea provided another highlight for the Philippines by capturing the Elite Category championship offered by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Ochea completed the course in 4:26:10 after splits of 20:09 in the swim, 2:27:55 on the bike and 1:32:38 in the run.
The specialized Elite Category placed national pool members, national team athletes and high-performing local competitors in a separate division from the standard age-group races.
More than 1,400 triathletes representing 48 countries participated in the event.
South Africa’s Henri Schoeman captured the professional men’s championship for the second time, while Australian Natalie Van Coevorden won her first professional women’s title in Lapu-Lapu.
Foreign competitors also delivered strong performances across several age-group divisions.
Japan’s Kazuhiro Oishi topped the men’s 25-29 category in 4:03:39.
Frenchmen Fabien Celeste and Sebastien Refane followed in 4:10:07 and 4:19:12, respectively.
Multi-titled Bea Quiambao won the women’s 25-29 division in 5:22:12.
Aira Lopez placed second in 5:37:02, while Cynthia Ras finished third in 5:39:54.
Japan’s Maeda Ryosuke ruled the men’s 30-34 category in 3:56:26.
Julian Teves took second in 4:26:36, while Mervin Santiago placed third in 4:29:48.
Canada’s Casey Logan captured the women’s 30-34 crown in 5:20:59.
Nicole Andaya finished second in 5:30:34, followed by Pauline Fornea in 5:34:35.
Hong Kong’s Ho Tin Kwok won the men’s 35-39 division in 4:34:40.
Britain’s Matthew Gibson placed second in 4:40:06, while Junrey Cabarrubias took third in 5:55:20.
Malaysia’s Eva Wong claimed the women’s 35-39 championship in 5:21:25.
Japan’s Yui Matsumoto finished close behind in 5:23:30, while ultrawoman Jennifer Uy placed third in 5:50:15.
Japan’s Ryosute Ohata and Yuko Takahashi won the men’s and women’s 40-44 divisions in 4:12:51 and 5:16:35, respectively.
Germany’s Andreas Wuestenberg captured the men’s 45-49 title in 4:57:03, while Ines Santiago won the women’s division in 5:20:54.
Singapore-based Australian Assad Attamimi ruled the men’s 50-54 category in 4:19:07, while Japan’s Masami Suzuki won the women’s title in 5:46:15.
Dutchman Marnix Beugel took the men’s 55-59 crown in 4:40:13, while Australia’s Michelle Boyes claimed the women’s championship in 5:37:11.
Britain’s David Boyes won the men’s 60-64 division in 5:33:20, while Celma Hitalia topped the women’s category in 5:59:19.
Japan’s Yoshihisa Takase captured the men’s 65-69 title in 5:36:40.
Japanese compatriot Toshikazu Kobayashi ruled the men’s 70-74 category in 6:41:21.
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