Acea Subic Bay, Zambales—There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
Aussies Sam Betten and Dimity Lee Duke ruled their respective categories in the 2019 Black Arrow Express 5150 Subic Bay Philippines, but took different paths to victory in the 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run race here yesterday October 27.
Betten led from the get-go to beat hard-charging Czech Jakub Langhammer in the men’s division while Duke had to erase a two-minute deficit after the swim to overcome the challenge of Laura Wood of New Zealand.
Betten led by two minutes after the swim. He extended that advantage to three after the bike. Langhammer tried to close the gap but could only chop a minute off Betten’s lead in the run to finish second.
In contrast, Duke trailed by two minutes after the swim. She trailed by 24 seconds after the bike. Duke finally overtook Wood in the run and won pulling away.
Betten expressed his appreciation at being able to participate in another Sunrise Events race.
“Sunrise Events races are world class and as a professional athlete you want to compete in those events that set a high standard. Sunrise Events races are just the best there are and the experience of the events is just so amazing that I always want to keep coming back every year,” said Betten.
Langhammer agreed with Betten’s assessment of the well-run, world class triathlon races.
“Sunrise Events organizes the best events in IRONMAN circles in the world. It is a team of really friendly people who love their work which is really important. Sunrise Events provides the best hospitality and event quality for all participants and I think this is why their races are so popular,” said Langhammer.
Meanwhile, Jose Fernando Casares came in first in the Male Asian Elite category. Following him are national triathlete John Leerams Chicano who will represent the Philippines in the coming Southeast Asia Games and Jorry Ycong.
Alexandra Ganzon was the lone entry in the Female Asian Elite.
Black Arrow Express is the title sponsor of the race. Venue hosts are Subic Bay and ACEA Subic Bay. Other sponsors are TYR (official swim brand), GU (official energy gel), David’s Salon and F2P Sportswear as major sponsors. Media partners are ONE Sports on Cignal, Crosstrain.ph, Trilife, AsiaTri.com and FInisherPix. Alaska, AlcoPlus, Australia Harvest, Cetaphil, DeVant, Sanicare, Regent, Storck and Timex are marketing partners.