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SUBIC—Ben
Pulham of New Zealand saved his best for last to emerge
the men’s elite champion of the 2007 Subic International
Triathlon Championship at the Subic Freeport Zone
Sunday.
Pulham,
26, knew he could not dominate in the 1.5-km swim and
the 40-km bike. So he poured it all in the 10-km run to
win in one hour, 54 minutes and 58 seconds.
“I
didn’t expect to win because I am not a good swimmer. I
just wanted to keep close to the others and make my move
in the run,” said Pulham, second in the event in 2005.
“I
really wanted to do well because it is easier to get
points here than in World Cup races. Although it was hot
and humid [that made running so hard], I’m happy that I
made it,” he added. He clocked 17:18:25 in the swim,
1:04:59 in the bike and 32:40 in the run.
Besides
the P40,000 cash prize, Pulham also earned International
Triathlon Union ranking points for the Beijing 2008
Olympics.
A close
second in the event organized by the Triathlon
Association of the Philippines was Harunobu Sato of
Japan (1:55:24), followed by his compatriot Hiroki
Sugimoto (1:56:24).
2005
Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist Arlan Macasieb
(2:09:11) settled for 15th place while veteran George
Vilog (2:09:56) and aquathlon coach Mark Candelaria (2:10:10) were 16th and 17th, respectively.
In the
women’s elite Saturday, Christine Wellington of Great
Britain clinched her first major title in the meet
sponsored by Speedo, David’s Salon, Herbalife, Asian
Centre for Insulation, Fitness First, SBMA, Gatorade and
Legenda Hotel and supported by Alaska, Adidas,PSC, the
Philippine Olympic Committee and media partner Solar
Sports.
Japan’s
Chie Nakashima, a telephone operator from
Tokyo, was
second
in 2:08:39 and Alee Sharp of Australia was third in
2:14:11.
Mimi
Lucas, 17, was the best-placed Filipina at seventh with
2:27.49 while Asian Games veteran Lea Coline Langit
checked in eighth in 2:29.03. |
