DEFENDING champions Sam Betten and Dimity Lee Duke of Australia lead a formidable cast of Pro division contenders in the Bellevue 5150 Triathlon slated on Nov. 6 in Panglao Island, Bohol.
The 27-year old Betten and Duke, 32, ruled the men and women’s Pro category last year in the race that featured a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40k bike and 10k run.
The organizing Sunrise Events Inc. (SEI) expects around 400-600 triathletes to join the group’s final race this year. SEI is also the organizer of the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships last August 7 at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa in Mactan Island where around 3,000 triathletes from 43 countries competed.
Betten will be competing against Manila-based fellow Australian Dan Brown while Filipina pro Monica Torres along with New Zealand’s Amelia Watkinson and Michelle Duffiled of Australia will be challenging Duke in the women’s race.
In the Filipino elite division, 13 triathletes will vie for supremacy including defending champion Paul Jumamil of Bohol. Jumamil is the top triathlete of Omega Pro Tri Team. Jenny Rose Guerrero of Alaska Triaspire, will also defend her women’s division crown.
Cebuano John Philip Dueñas will also compete in the Filipino elite division along with Banjo Norte, Kristiane Lim, Emmanuel Comendador, Rosalito Albina, Edward Macalalad, Joseph Miller, Welmar Saavedra, Ralph Martin Sios-e and Amale Jopson.