NATIONAL athlete Fernando Jose Cesares ruled the men’s contest and Cebu’s Raven Faith Alcoseba topped the women’s side of the elite sprint distance races of the recent National Duathlon Championships at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.
Caseres clocked 58 minutes and 3 seconds to bag gold in the 5-km run/20-km bike race, with his fellow national athlete John Leerams Chicano clinching silver in 58.09 and Maynard Pecson bagging bronze in 58.13.
Alcoseba, on the other hand, won in 1:06:32, beating Singapore’s Louisa Middleditch (1:07.10) and Merry Joy Trupa (1:08.50) in the event organized by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines that lured more than 450 duathletes from nine countries.
They competed against entries from Australia, Brazil, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the United States.
The participants enjoyed a picturesque landscape as they biked and ran around New Clark City and its nearby communities in Capas.
“It’s heartwarming to see so many participants taking on the challenge of the New Clark City course,” said Arrey Perez, Senior Vice President for Corporate Services of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.