EVERYTHING’S set for the Bellevue 5i50 Triathlon as close to 700 triathletes from all over the globe vie for top honors in the prestigious race to be held at the plush Bellevue Resort in Panglao Island, Bohol on Sunday.
According to organizers, triathletes have started to arrive in Bohol yesterday to get ready for the race that features a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40k bike, and 10k run for pros and a short-distance 750-m swim, 20k bike, and 5k run for beginners.
“A total of 150 athletes have arrived here and we are expecting the rest to register with us tomorrow (today),” Princess Galura, Sunrise Events Inc. (SEI) general manager, told Cebu Daily News.
Leading the list of participants is defending men’s pro champion Sam Betten of Australia, who also finished third place in the recent IronMan 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championships in Cebu. He will be joined by
Germany’s Henry Beck and the Philippine-based Dan Brown.
Defending women’s champion Dimity Lee-Duke, also of Australia, is once again the triathlete to beat in the women’s race. Among her competitors are fellow Aussies Michelle Duffield and Rebecca Ohlwein and New Zealand’s Amelia Watkinson.
Also competing are triathletes from Cebu’s Rider Omega Pro Tri Team, who are coming from a successful stint in the Tri United Series 2016 in Subic Bay, Zambales.
The team will be fielding in 13 triathletes. They will be led by team captain Tonyson Luther Lee and Filipino elite defending champion and proud Boholano Paul Jumamil. They will be joined by Banjo Norte, Kristiane Lim, Welmar Saavedra, Chris Capistrano, Frederick Castañeda, Paul Jake Castillo, Cianyl Gonzales, Lorna Amor, Feelin Torres, Maria Hodges and Lorenzo Amor.
Meanwhile, Galura said that participants should not be worried about their security amidst recent intelligence reports released by the United States Embassy of possible kidnappings in the southern part of the neighboring Cebu island.
“We talked to Philippine National Police Region 7 Director Noli Taliño and he said that there is no direct threat to the race,” Galura said.
Galura said should the weather turn bad on race day, they might shorten courses of the race.
“We have plenty of options, we can either shorten the swim and bike course or cancel them if the wind gets really strong,” she said.
But forecast from accuweather.com shows that there will be a low chance of rain in the morning on race day.