John Philip Dueñas of Motorace-Kawasaki Racing Team sprints to the finish line on the way to winning the 80/80 Triathlon in Sogod, north Cebu. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
John Philip Dueñas returned to serious competition yesterday after a brief absence. And the talented triathlete asserted his dominance by ruling the Sogod 80/80 Triathlon of the Cornerstone Group, outlasting his younger brother and rookie triathlete Chobie, in the elite category in Sogod town, north Cebu.
The 29-year old Dueñas, ace triathlete of Motorace-Kawasaki Racing Team, engaged his younger brother, 20-year old Chobie of Volvo Multisports in a tight battle from start to finish.
John Philip, the trainer of the country’s Marathon Queen Mary Joy Tabal finished the race in three hours 24 mintues and 58 seconds while Chobie hit the finish line in 3:29.55. Parklane Tri Team’s Ralph Arce came in third in 3:30.42.
John Philip finished second in the 30-39 years old category of the Century Tuna IronMan 70.3 in Subic Bay, Zambales after recovering from injuries he sustained from a bike accident in last year’s Safeguard 5150 Triathlon in Bohol. Chobie on the other hand, topped the Men’s Elite category of last month’s Tabuelan 111 Triathlon.
In the women’s race, Louie Villacin of WS Tri Team captured the top spot by clocking 4:09.24 while Repro Optima’s Mary Luz Shimazu came in second in 4:39.02. Lucille Ruiz of Tri Lilo-an finished third in 4:41.58
In the 40/40 category, Ralph Eduard So of Volvo Multisports and Merly Silva of Motorace Racing Team emerged the fastest in the Men’s and Women’s divisions by clocking 1:46.16 and 2:14.40, respectively.