The Talisay Luigi Triathlon Group, a developmental team for the Philippine national triathlon team, reaped medals in the 5150 Dapitan, which is a part of the 5150 Triathlon Series in the Philippines.

The race covers 51.50 kilometers: 1.5km swim, 40km bike, and 10km run.

The team was overall champion in the 5150 category courtesy of Matthew Hermosa. His teammate, Nicole Del Rosario, was fastest female finisher and was overall champion in women’s sprint category. His other teammate, Renz Corbin, bagged silver overall and placed first in his age group for the Go for Gold Sunrise Sprint.

The team is headed by decorated coach Roland Remolino and assisted by coaches Mary Joana Remolino and Michael Louie Remolino.

Hermosa, a gold medalist in the Southeast Asian Games Aquathlon mixed relay team, did not have an idea at first that he was racing in the 5150 category. He thought all along that he was racing for the Go for Gold Sunrise Sprint, which is a shorter distance: 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run.

”Before the race, I was surprised to find out I had been placed in the 5150 event instead of the Sunrise Sprint. However, I realized it was still a challenge I had to take on, and I embraced it as an opportunity to push myself even further. In the end, it was about rising to meet whatever came my way.” he said.

The Olympic distance was more demanding for him as it is longer than the short distance races he was used to. It was only the second time for him to do the Olympic distance and it was reportedly one of the hardest races he has joined.

Despite this, he still finished on top of the podium.

Del Rosario, on the other hand, has endured the hardships of being a student athlete as she was competing against full time athletes. Her goal was not to win but to achieve a personal best.

A situation during the run segment could have cost her the medal when one of her competitors reportedly complained that she was drafting during the bike segment of the race. This was clarified, eventually.

“I had been followed by draft marshals the first seven kilometers and last three kilometers but they told me it was fine because I kept the safe zone of 10 meters distance from one athlete to another,” Del Rosario said.

Corbin’s ‘race’ started in training, loading his chambers with ammunition, including visualizing the actual race and strategizing for what may or may not happen to cover all angles.

As the race was about to start, he started feeling discomfort in the stomach, which was going to be a huge problem. He needed to change his strategy twice but, despite this, he miscalculated his strategy in the run segment, which became a challenge for him to catch up to leading athlete Paul Jumamil.

He might have fallen short of the overall championship in the sprint category, Corbin still placed second overall and placed first in the male 18-24 category.

The victory in 5150 Dapitan was a stepping stone in the team’s participation in the Singapore International triathlon.

(Contributed story by Carl Vincent Polizon. The author is a third year communication student of the University of San Carlos.)