CEBUANO WINNERS. From left, Cebuano triathletes Ralph Eduard So, Nicole Marie del Rosario, Issa Priagula, Aaliyah Ricci Mataragnon, Catherine Angeli Yu, Eduard Russell So and Mataragnon’s younger sister, Althea. (Contributed)
Cebuana Aaliyah Mataragnon finishes second in Asian Cup triathlon despite shortened training
Cebuana Aaliyah Ricci Mataragnon proved that there’s no harm in trying.
This as the 15-year-old multi-awarded triathlete pulled off a second-place finish in the prestigious 2015 Hong Kong ASTC Sprint Triathlon Asian Cup yesterday despite having her training cut short.
Mataragnon’s father, Richie, said his daughter was supposed to skip the Hong Kong race, which she considered one of the biggest this year, after being struck by a viral infection last week that affected the last phase of her training.
But the resilient and determined Aaliyah of the Sacred Heart School-Hijas de Jesus (SHS-HdJ) insisted she join the race and flew to Hong Kong last Thursday along with fellow Cebuano junior triathletes.
At the end of the race, she and her fellow Cebuano triathletes managed podium finishes with Aaliyah clinching second place in the youth female 2000 category, clocking 49 minutes and 43 seconds.
“She was supposed to back out of the race but we already purchased her plane ticket and registered her so she insisted of joining,” Richie said. “Thank God, she made it.”
Louisa Middleditch of United Kingdom finished first with a time of 47:44 in the race that offered a distance of 375 meters of swimming, 10 kilometers of biking and 2.5 km of running.
According to Richie, his daughter had the capability to beat Middleditch. In fact, last April, Middleditch finished third behind Aaliyah in the Metasprint Series in Singapore.
“(Aaliyah) could have won the title if not for her timing chip which she lost in the middle of the race,” Richie said.
Aaliyah’s most recent win was last Sept. 21 when she and her teammate Ralph So topped the sprint distance of the Hunat Sugbu Triathlon in Argao, south Cebu.
Hong Kong’s Chong Yong Qi finished third with a time of 54:37.
Mataragnon’s teammate Issa Priagula of Maria Montessori International School also finished second in the 16-19 female junior category, clocking 1:05.16.
Chinese Tam Nga Man won the title with a time of 57:22 while Lee Wing Sum, who is also Chinese, placed third, finishing in 1:14.31.
Another Cebuana, Catherine Angelie Yu, a product of Ateneo de Cebu, also placed second in the female 2003 category with a time of 49:13.
Yu Ting topped Yu’s category with a time of 47:21 while Gaile Lai Lok Yee placed third with (50:10).
So, meanwhile, placed 11th in the youth male 2000 with a time of 1:09:51 while Iligan City’s Lucian Antonio Alejo topped the male youth male 2000 category with a time of 39:39.
So’s younger brother, Eduard Russell, placed 13th in the youth male 2003 category with the time of 1:00.12.
Another Cebuana Nicole Marie del Rosario finished seventh in the Female 2003 race after clocking 1:01:07.
Other Cebuano winners were Justin Chiongbian, who finished 13th in the junior men’s elite, and reigning Alaska Iron Kids champion Frederic Albert “Yuan” Chiongbian, who finished 11th in the Male open.