Fil-German Baetz retains Ironkids crown

Arno Baetz leads Yuan Chongbian in the bike leg of the Alaska Ironkids. (CDN PHOTO/ LITO TECSON)

The fine weather and the more convenient course made yesterday’s Alaska IronKids a near-perfect race, one which was enjoyed by all participating junior triathletes.

But none cherished it more than Filipino-German Arno Baetz, who defended his title in his last stint as an IronKid.

The 14-year-old Baetz topped the 13-14 boys division anew, finishing the 200-meter swim, 9km bike and 2km run race in 31 minutes and 31.8 seconds. The race started and ended at the Shangri-la’s Mactan Resort and Spa.

Baetz beat Cebuano Yuan Chiongbian, who timed 32:12.1. Brent Valelo finished third in 32:41.7.

This is the second straight year that Baetz beat a Chiongbian to the title. Last year, Baetz nipped Justin Liam Chiongbian, Yuan’s older brother who is currently competing in the Milo Little Olympics Visayas Championships.

Baetz said the road to the crown wasn’t an easy one as he had to give his all to beat Yuan.

“The challenge Yuan gave me was really tough,” Baetz said. “I’m glad that I overcame that challenge.”

Baetz and Chiongbian dueled each other from start to finish, but the Fil-German created some distance in the run portion.

Baetz also said the modified race course was a key factor in his victory. The new course traverses the Punta Engano Road, which was more race friendly. Last year, participants only raced within Shangri-la’s premises, so they had to make multiple loops in the three disciplines.

Race director Annie de Leon-Brown said the success of this year’s race was a great way to bounce back from their horrible experience last year, where they had to cancel two lower age groups at the last minute because of bad weather.

“Last year was very stressful,” said De Leon-Brown. “A lot of parents came to me and filed complaints and a lot of children cried after knowing their race will be cancelled.We had to pacify them and let them understand that we prioritize the safety of the participants.”

Yesterday, De Leon-Brown said the weather wasn’t a problem at all. She said this is the main reason why she considers the race successful.

“Everything was smooth, everyone was happy especially the parents. I can’t ask for more but we don’t settle for this. We want to improve every year,” she said.

COMPLAINTS
As perfect as the race may look, not everyone was actually satisfied with the outcome of the race.

A group of spectators who asked not to be named told Cebu Daily News that Baetz violated some rules. They said Baetz came out of water second to Valelo but he allegedly took the lead after jumping over a couple of buoys along the shoreline enroute to the bike transition area.

They also said Baetz rode his bike beyond the dismount point.

De Leon-Brown was quick to clarify the issue. She said it was the marshal’s decision to either penalize Baetz or not for the  alleged violations. She said the marshals decided not to penalize because it wouldn’t affect the outcome of the race.

“The marshals handling the race are the same ones who will handle the IronMan 70.3 so I trust them well,” De Leon-Brown said.  “They already know the right things to do when something happens to the race. I think the complainants are just parents who can’t accept that their kid lost. We’re used to this kind of complaints.”

Another complainant was Yuan Chiongbian, who described the race course this year a bad one.

He said he could have gotten closer to Baetz if not for the younger age groups who were also traversing the same bike course they were using.

“They caused a little bit of traffic in the bike course that’s why I had to maneuver away from them while Arno(Baetz) was creating some distance,” Yuan said. “I was kind of disappointed but I’m still happy that I managed to finish second.”

Other winners were Quezon City’s Nicole Danielle Eijansantos (girls 13-14), Juan Francisco Baniqued (boys 11-12), Samantha Borlain (girls 11-12), Hyonde Keum (boys 9-10), Syrah Ruth Uy (girls 9-10),  Juan Miguel Tayag ( boys 6-8) and Justicia Mariearl Tan (girls 6-8).

Kim Atienza’s son, Jose, topped the play-long distance division while Andrea Faith Santos won the girls title. In the play-short distance category, Noah Vernon and Celine Maniquis were the winners.