SOUTH African Bradley Weiss defended his Xterra Albay Off-Road Triathlon title while New Zealand’s Lizzie Orchard won her first crown since turning pro yesterday in Albay.
Weiss finished the grueling off-road race with a time of two hours, 29 minutes and 56 seconds, beating former grand slam champion Ben Allen of Australia, who settled for second place with a time of 2:33.59. Veteran triathlete Sam Gardner rounded off the top three in the men’s pro division with a time of 2:34.08.
Orchard, meanwhile, scored a come-from-behind win to take the women’s title. She was initially trailing Jacqui Slack of Great Britain but took the lead halfway through the race. She finished with a time of 2:52.14 while Slack settled for second place at 2:54.30. Guam’s Mieko Carey finished third (3:07.35).
Lone Filipino pro contender Joseph Miller finished ninth with a time of 3:11.48.
Other Cebuanos who made waves in yesterday’s race were Elmo Clarabal and Tenggoy Colmenares.
Clarabal ruled the 35-39 years old division with a time of 2:59.59 while Colmenares finished third in the 45-49 years old division, finishing in 3:37.23.