Triathlete Remolino begins training for SEA Games, sets eyes on gold medal

Coach Roland “Andoy” Remolino and son Andrew Kim Remolino shows off the medals he won in the South Korea competition. | Mars G. Alison

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games may still be five months away but father and son tandem, Roland “Andoy” and Andrew Kim Remolino, are not wasting time as they have started preparing for the biennial meet, which the Philippines will host from November 30 to December 10.

Kim had already started training after he got back last Tuesday, June 26 from the 2019 Gyeongju ASTC Triathlon Asian Championship in South Korea, said Roland, his father and coach who is better known in the swimming and triathlon community as “Coach Andoy.”

Read more: Coach Remolino rates S. Korea performance of Talisay triathlon team at 85%

Coach Andoy is the head coach of the Talisay Luigi Triathlon Group (TLTG) which is one of the groups sponsored by Jeremy Randall Go’s Go For Gold — the group where Kim and most of the young triathletes in Cebu belong to.

“Wala jud kay target jud namo gold sa SEA Games ((None at all because we are targeting the gold in the Sea Games),” said Coach Andoy on why he immediately let his son go back to training right after they arrived from South Korea.

Read more: Cebuano triathlete Andrew Kim Remolino poised to represent PH in SEA Games 

The younger Remolino is poised to represent the Philippines in the triathlon competition of the SEA Games after he was the first Filipino to finish first in both qualifiers—the Subic Bay International Triathlon 2019 in Subic last April and the recently held 2019 Gyeongju ASTC Triathlon Asian Championship in South Korea.

This will be Kim’s first time to compete in the SEA Games and the 19-year-old is more than willing to make the sacrifice to be able to hand the Philippines a medal.

According to Kim, he will forego his first year in college this school year so that he could focus on his training for the SEA games.

Kim plans to take up a Civil Engineering course.

“Yes kay first SEA Games sad biya nako dayon homecourt pa jud,” said Kim.

(Yes because it is my first Sea Games, and I will be competing at homecourt.)

Read more: Triathlete skips graduation for a chance to qualify for Southeast Asian Games

However, this is not the first time that Kim sacrificed his schooling for his sport as he also missed his high school graduation back in April to compete in Subic.

Coach Andoy said that Kim’s training consisted of two hours and a half of biking and running in the morning, then three hours and a half of swimming and running in the afternoon.

According to Coach Andoy, he wants Kim’s performance in the swim to improve by 15 percent more, his biking by 15 percent more, and his run by 10 percent more.

And compared to his competitors from other Southeast Asian countries, Kim would have to catch up two minutes in swimming, four minutes in biking and three minutes in running, said coach Andoy.

Kim, however, has no problems with this as he is already used to training daily.

“I feel like permi makuwang akong adlaw kung di ko ka training. Murag mao na jud na ang normal daily life nako ,” said Kim.

(I feel like my day is lacking if I cannot train. I think that is already my normal daily life.)

Kim will be training just here in Cebu, said his father.

“Advice sa TRAP (Triathlon Association of the Philippines) adto sa Portugal pero para nako ari ra kaya ra nako dad-on si Kim na modaog sa SEA Games,” said coach Andoy.

(TRAP advised for him to train in Portugal but I’d rather he trains here because I know I can handle Kim and make him win in the SEA Games.)

Aside from training, Kim’s inspiration remains his family, especially his older brother, Luigi, who had already passed away, and for whom TLTG was created.

“Of course to my family especially to my brother then also to the team,” the young Remolino said./dbs