SIXTO DUCAY, Andy Avellana and Arnel Aba made their presence felt by snatching podium finishes in the 2015 Asian Triathlon Confederation Paratriathlon Championships held last month in Subic Bay.
Ducay and Avellana clinched the silver medal in the PT4 category, while Aba bagged the bronze medal in the PT2 class of the championship that featured a 750-meter swim, 18-km bike and 5-km run race.
Ducay clocked one hour, 17 minutes and 30 seconds to finish behind Japan’s Keiichi Sato, who placed fourth in the recent Yokohama Paratriathlon Championships.
“Triathlon gave me a new hope in sports because in triathlon, more and more younger athletes are emerging, but here I am, given the opportunity to still do what I love doing,” Ducay, 47, said.
Ducay, who has been racing with an impaired right arm, is the only Filipino qualified in the World Paratriathlon series in Edmonton, Canada, and in the Chicago Paratriathlon.
The team was supported by Canon with Canon Marketing Philippines Inc. (CMPI) capturing the exploits of the Filipino triathletes.
“We have been supporting the Philippine National Paratriathlon Team for two years now because we believe in their passion to succeed in the sport despite the obvious challenges they bear physically,” CMPI President Lim Kok Hin said. “At Canon, we help draw out clear and crisp images of success that inspire Filipino individuals, families and communities.”
Vince Garcia, head coach of the national team, stressed the importance of Canon’s support.
“We need to support these guys. Like right now, the only way to get the rest of the team to really garner points [international] is to throw support to them for all races that we can find, and it’s not cheap,” Garcia said. “If people can help them, that would be really great.”
The ultimate goal for the Philippine team, Garcia said, is to send a representative to the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“That would be the pinnacle of our existence here and it’s the ultimate dream of any athlete—to be able to join where the best of the best are,” he said.