TWELVE-year old Cebuana junior triathlete Nicole Marie Del Rosario has already exceeded the expectations of her mentor when she scored a podium finish in an international tournament in Singapore early this year.
Today, the Sacred Heart School-Hijas De Jesus (SHS-HDJ) student hopes to go a step further as she targets the 11-12 years old girls tiara in the Alaska IronKids Triathlon at the Shangri-La Mactan Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City.
Del Rosario is among 360 kids competing in the IronKids this year.
“There’s a big chance that she can win the competition this year and improve on her performance last year,” said Volvo Multi Sport triathlete Bryan Borja who coaches Del Rosario.
In 2015, Del Rosario finished in the top ten of her division.
“I don’t know if I can win because I have a lot of competitors. Catherine Yu and Moira Eredeño who are from Cebu are also good. But my aim is to be in the podium. I want to make my mom and coach proud,” Del Rosario told CDN.
Other Cebuano kids competing today are Edward Russell So in the 11-12 boys category and Ford Forza Paolo Guidicelli in the boys 13-14 division.
Also wrangling in the annual event are the favored Borlain sisters – Sara, Tara and Francesca who have dominated their respective divisions the past few years, Wacky Baniqued and Jana Macalalad who is coming off a victory in the Super Sprint category of the recent Singapore International Triathlon.