Raven Faith Alcoseba | PSC Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Raven Faith Alcoseba, Cebuana triathlon sensation who bagged the bronze medal in the women’s triathlon event of the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEAG), will try to shift her focus a bit by reviving her promising career in collegiate swimming.
The 18-year-old pride of Talisay City in southern Cebu is planning to compete and fulfill her responsibility as a varsity swimmer of the Dela Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers in Manila later this year and compete in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).
For several years, due to the pandemic, Alcoseba hasn’t fully focused on swimming and its related competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her break from swimming fascinatingly introduced her to triathlon when she trained on a bike and joined runs with her team, the Talisay Luigi Triathlon Group (TLTG) Go For Gold’s training session with her coach Roland Remolino.
Fast Forward to 2022, Alcoseba found herself climbing the podium in the 31st SEA Games as the bronze medalist in the women’s triathlon in her debut, joining fellow Filipina Kim Mangrobang who won her third consecutive gold medal in the biennial meet.
Alcoseba clocked 2:18:30 in the 1.5-kilometer swim, 40km bike, and 10km run race among 11 other competitors in the SEA Games.
“I will still be competing and I think UAAP swimming is scheduled to be on October this year,” said Alcoseba who attended to her studies immediately after arriving from Vietnam last week.
Aside from competing anew in UAAP, Alcoseba will also compete in triathlon races this year to keep her active after the Guangzhou Asian Games was postponed due to the uptrend of the COVID-19 cases in China.
“As of now, I am planning to join local races since I don’t have any major events coming,” said Alcoseba.
For Alcoseba, her bronze medal finish in her SEA Games debut is very special as it represented her hard work and sacrifices.
“For me, a bronze medal is very special since it represents my hard work and all the hardships I had to encounter to get this medal,” said Alcoseba.
“My first SEA Games was really fun and challenging since there were a lot of strong people. My unforgettable experience would be the whole stay there since there were so much special moments I shared with the team,” she said.
She is also aiming to improve her bike skills, which she considers the toughest part of her race during the SEA Games.
“My performance was good but I know I still have to improve a lot especially on the swim start since its a bit crowded. For me, the hardest part was the bike since I had to go solo then eventually the pack caught up on me,” she said.
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