THE RISE of Triathlon in the Philippines continued in 2017 with the awesome showing of the national team in the Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia last August. The Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) outshone its fellow national sports associations wherein their four-strong delegation took home two golds and two silvers.
After the 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bicycle ride and 10-kilometer run, Nikko Huelgas successfully defended the gold medal he won two years ago in Singapore while Rambo Chicano settled for runner-up honors. In the distaff side, Kim Mangrobang took the gold by edging out defending champion Claire Adorna.
TRAP regularly staged races throughout the year all over the country as part of their grassroots program. Aside from Triathlon, TRAP also organized races for other multi-sport events like Duathlon and Aquathlon.
It is not surprising then why TRAP has a wide national training pool with all the talents discovered in these races. The Philippines is set to host the next SEAG in 2019 and TRAP is looking to add Duathlon and Aquathlon to the calendar and increase the number of available gold medals from the present two.
Private organizers also did their part by staging popular international franchise races like Ironman and Powerman Duathlon that drew top professional athletes from overseas. This gave a chance to the so-called recreational athletes to match skills with world champions.
A big boost in bringing the sport closer to the masses has been the growing number of celebrity participants. Even if races were held in faraway areas, it did not matter as fans came in droves to catch a glimpse of their showbiz idols.
Looking for a new physical challenge in 2018? Give Triathlon a try.
