World renowned furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue shows his unique design for the 2015 Cobra Ironman 70.3 medal. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
The medal for those who complete the 2015 Ironman 70.3 race takes the form of a hill.
Finishing the event is a victory of reaching your own summit, according to industrial designer Kenneth Cobonpue, who unveiled his exclusive designs for medals and trophies yesterday at the Shangrila’s Mactan resort on the eve of the endurance races.
READ: 2016 Ironman Asia Pacific Championship to be hosted in Cebu
The tiny figure of a swimmer is set on a wave and mounted on a rail that leads to a cyclist.
The figure on top of the hill is the marathon runner conquering the last event in the triathlon.
The figures, representing the three sports in the competition, are made of gold-plated brass set on a base made of crushed stone composite.
Cobonpue said that he was inspired by the pain, hardship and endurance of the race participants.
“At the end of the race, you feel that you own the hill so I wanted to design a small hill,” he said.
“Its very difficult to design this year after year, to design unique medals that’s worthy of all your efforts,” said Cobonpue, addressing professional triathletes gathered at the marquee.
At the bottom of the medal, Cobonpue pointed to a small puddle.
“With the flooding now, I should have made it one big puddle,” he said in jest, referring to recent downpours in Cebu that triggered street flooding.
The trophy, Cobonpue said, took him “the longest” to finish”, about two months.
The Ironman trophy is a sculpture depicting the swimmer, biker and runner abstracted into a single form.
Cobonpue said he had wanted to use Mactan stone which is fossilized coral found in Mactan island but had to drop the idea because it was illegal to quarry this material.
Instead, he used a mixture of cast resin, cast stone, and brass.
Cobonpue thanked Fred Uytengsu, CEO of Sunrise Events Inc. and Alaska, for the opportunity to design the Ironman 70.3 medal and trophy for the past four years.
The task isn’t over.
Uytengsu said the artistry of the Cebuano designer would still be behind the medal and trophy for next year’s Asia Pacific Ironman 70.3 Championship in Cebu./With Mary Claire U. Catado, UP Cebu Intern
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