Chicano, Burgos rule Panglao triathlon with race’s fastest overall finishes
John Leerams Chicano | Photo by 5150 Facebook Page
PANGLAO, Bohol — Philippine triathlon team members John Leerams Chicano and Erika Burgos displayed their dominance in their first race in the Sun Life 5150 Triathlon race on Sunday, July 9, 2023, in Panglao Island, Bohol.
This was after, Chicano and Burgos emerged as the fastest overall finishers in the male and female categories, respectively, despite being first timers in this race organized by Sunrise Events Inc.
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Chicano
The 31-year-old Chicano, a three-time Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) gold medalist flexed his winning form by crossing the finish line in two hours and five seconds, dethroning defending champion Satar Salem who finished behind him at second in 2:04.45, while Josh Ramos settled for third in 2:07.31.Chicano, a first timer in the 5150 race was behind after the swim and bike portions. He was trailing eventual third placer Josh Ramos in the swim and behind Salem in the bike.
Not to be outraced, Chicano upped his pace in the last stretch of the 10-kilometer run which gave him a considerable lead against the two other contenders.
Upped his pace
“Maganda yung course pero pagdating sa gitna may konting current, pagkalabas ko sa swim pangalawa lang ako kay Josh,” said Chicano.
(The course is good but when you reach the middle there is a small current, so when I completed the swim I was already second to Josh.)
“Nauna sa akin si Satar, nagkeep kaming tatlo, tapos sa hanggang magtransition, nagpace na ako hanggang sa U-turn, nagkampante ako ng konti. Sa last three kilometers nagdagdag ako ng pace hanggang sa finish line,” he said.
(Satar was ahead of me, we kept (pace) the three of us, then until the transition, then that was the time that I took over the pace until the U-turn, I was a little confident then. In the last three kilometers, I increased my pace until the finish line.)
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Erika Burgos | Photo by 5150 Facebook Page
Burgos
Meanwhile, Burgos breasted the finish tape in 2:24.29 to become the fastest female finisher of the race.
She outraced second placer Leyann Ramo who came in 2:30.11, while Katrina Salazar rounded off the top three overall finisher in 2:32.10.
“Nagdrop yung seat ko during the bike, sobrang na feel ko yung pain sa lower back ko. Pero I managed to overcome it. I loved the challenge, especially sa non-drafting format, pero yun nga challenging din yung race, Naunahan nga ako ni ate Leyann (Ramo) pero sabi ko sa sarili ko to push harder,” said the 21-year-old Burgos.
(The seat of my bike dropped, I really felt the pain in my lower back. But I managed to overcome it. I loved the challenge, especially in non-drafting format, but the race is really challenging. Ate Leyann (Ramo) even overtook me, but I told myself to push harder.)
A total of 615 triathletes from over a dozen countries competed in the race which featured an Olympic-distance triathlon that covered the towns of Dauis and Panglao Island here.
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