Talisay City, Cebu’s Andrew Kim Remolino. | contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Talisay City, Cebu’s Andrew Kim Remolino has been officially announced as part of the four-man team who will represent the Philippines in the triathlon competition of the upcoming 30th Southeast Asian Games.
“It’s truly a pleasure for me that I can finally represent the country in this coming SEA Games,” said the 19-year-old Remolino.
Remolino will be joining John Leerams Chicano, Kim Mangrobang and Kim Kilgroe in representing the Philippines in the Men’s and Women’s Elite, as announced by Tom Carrasco, the president of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP), the National Sports Association (NSA) that governs triathlon in the country.
“Murag naka puno gamay sa pressure ang official announcement nila sa final listing na murag ako najung mabati ang kadako sa akong responsibility na mo represent for the country,” added the member of the Talisay Luigi Triathlon Group-Go For Gold (TLTG-GFG).
(It seemed that the official announcement of the final listing has added slightly to the pressure. I can now feel the huge responsibility of representing the country.)
The Philippines will be hosting the 2019 biennial meet from November 30 to December 11, 2019.
The triathlon competition will be held at the Subic Bay Boardwalk in Zambales.
According to Remolino, competing here in the Philippines has also added to the pressure but at the same time gives him motivation to do well.
“It is expected that a lot of Filipinos will be watching and supporting us there and I don’t want to disappoint any of them. So, I really need to give my best during the event,” quipped Remolino.
The national team plans to train for the SEA Games in Johor Malaysia but Remolino said his father, TLTG-GFG head coach Roland “Andoy” Remolino, wants that they just train here in Cebu.
Remolino earned his slot into the national team when he was the fastest Filipino Elite to finish in the two SEA Games qualifiers—the 2019 Gyeongju ASTC Asian Triathlon Championships, held in South Korea, last June, and the Subic Bay International Triathlon 2019 in Subic last April.
He will be replacing two-time SEA Games gold medalist Nikko Huelgas, who won the Asian Elite title of the recently held Regent Aguila IronMan 70.3 Philippines Cebu.
Huelgas failed to make it to the four-man roster as after winning his second gold in the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, his career took a downward turn coupled with injuries.
For Remolino, representing the country is a lot harder with Huelgas SEA Games’ success.
“Yes because I think everyone is expecting that we will be able to grab our third gold medal for triathlon,” said Remolino.
He said that aside of racing for the Philippines, he will also be dedicating his first SEA Games to “my family especially to my parents and my brother and also for the team.” /bmjo