PH misses podium in Asian Games triathlon

BEST EFFORT. Filipino-American triathlete Kim Kilgroes competes at the 18th Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia on Friday. Kilgroe finished ninth. (Photo by courtesy of INASGOC/PNA Photo)

JAKARTA — The Philippines missed the podium in the 18th Asian Games triathlon competition at the Jakabaring Sports City Lake in Palembang City on Saturday.

John Chicano, a silver medalist in the 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia, finished 10th in the 34-man field.

However, Chicano’s time of one hour, 54 minutes and 33 seconds was the fastest among six entries, including Filipino Niko Huelgas, from the ASEAN region.

Chicano also improved his personal best of 1:56.00 set in the 2016 Subic International Triathlon.

“Masaya po ako dahil nakapasok ako sa Magic 10 at saka nahigitan ko pa yong aking best time [I am happy because I made it to the Magic 10 and I surpassed my personal best time],” the 5-foot-8 Chicano said.

Two-time SEA Games champion Huelgas, on the other hand, clocked in 1:58:39 to finish 16th, behind Indonesia’s Muhammad Ahlul Firman (1:56:02).

“It doesn’t matter who finishes ahead as long as we did well. We always look at our entry in triathlon as a team effort so I am happy for Rambo (Chicano’s nickname),” said Huelgas, the SEA Games gold medalist in Malaysia (2017) and Singapore (2015).

Despite his 16th place finish, Huelgas also managed to improve his time of 1:59:17 during the 2014 Incheon Asian Games where he placed 11th.

Malaysia’s Ryan Qai Shen was 21st with a time of 2:04:20, while his teammate Aldrian Yu Yong registered 2:05:31 for 23rd place. Thailand’s Sirapob Sudsupap was 27th with a time of 2:14:18.

Japan’s Jumpei Furuya, a first-timer in the Asian Games, won the gold medal in the 1.80-km swim/20-km bike/10-km run competition with a time of 1:49:43.

Kazakhstan’s Ayan Beisenbayev pocketed the silver in 1:50:38, while China’s Li Mingxu bagged the bronze medal with a time of 1:50:49.

National coach Melvin Fausto said he was pleased to see one of his players in the Top 10.

“I am satisfied with the results of both Rambo and Niko because we were really trained for the Asian Games,” Fausto said.

In the women’s final last Friday, Marion Kim Mangrobang clocked in 2:05:20 to finish seventh and improve her ninth-place performance in Incheon.

Filipino-American Kim Kilgroe was ninth (2:06:57) in her Asian Games debut.

Japan’s Yuko Takahashi won the gold medal in 1:59.29 while China’s Zhong Mengying clocked 2:01:16 to take the silver medal. Macau’s Hoi Long submitted 2:01.28 to pocket the bronze medal.

Meanwhile, Huelgas and Mangrobang will join Claire Adorna and Mark Hosana in the mixed relay on Sunday.