The best triathletes in the world, led by 12-time IRONMAN New Zealand champion Cameron Brown and four-time champion Liz Blatchford will banner the 2018 Century Tuna IRONMAN Philippines at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone tomorrow Sunday, June 3, 2018.
Close to 1,300 local and international triathletes will take part in the Philippine journey which begins at the pristine ACEA beach with the 3.8 km swim in Subic Bay with the mountain ridge as the backdrop.
Other professional male athletes include Simon Cochrane, Ale Kochetkov, Marek Nemcik, Dan Brown, Nick Baldwin and Freddy Lampret.
Other professional female athletes are Erin Furness, Simone Maier, Dimity Lee Duke, Jana Candrova, Alise Selsmark and Julia Grant.
The event is part of the year-long 10th-anniversary celebration of Sunrise Events in holding races all over the Philippines
“It has been 10 years since the first IRONMAN 70.3 race was held in Camarines Sur. From 583 participants and one race in 2009, the sport has grown by leaps and bounds, with multiple races all over the Philippines. We at Sunrise Events are happy to be at the forefront of this triathlon renaissance and are proud to organize the 2018 Century Tuna IRONMAN Philippines in order to showcase one more time the best the country can offer,” said Sunrise Events Founder Wilfred Steven Uytengsu.
Title sponsor Century Tuna expressed pride at being part of the first full-distance IRONMAN race in the Philippines.
“We see the event as the perfect platform to promote a healthy lifestyle—the core value of our brand—and we hope that the Century Tuna IRONMAN Philippines will inspire many Filipinos to pursue their own fitness journey,” said Vice-President and General Manager of Century Pacific Food, Inc. Greg Banzon.
Finally holding a full distance IRONMAN in the Philippines is a significant leap for the development of the sport in the region according to IRONMAN Asia Managing Director Geoff Meyer.
“The past decade has been an extraordinary achievement of growth of IRONMAN and triathlon in the Philippines, and is a true testament to all Pinoys, who are now largely represented at races all over the world. I am incredibly proud of what IRONMAN and Sunrise Events team have achieved together, and of the community of triathletes who have been part of the journey,” said Meyer.
The 2018 Century Tuna IRONMAN Philippines will give away $25,000 prize purse and 30 age group qualifying slots for the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Other prizes include the Swim Bonus, Bike Bonus, Run Bonus, Fastest Swim/Bike/Run for Age Groupers; Sunrise Award: Over-all Top AG Filipino Male and Female ($500 each); and Century Tuna Team Award.