Calinawam dominates SPEEDO-NAGT in Cebu
Comebacking Gerrie Calinawan sent a strong message for his comeback bid in the local triathlon scene by dominating the second leg of the 2009 SPEEDO-National Age Group Tiathlon ( NAGT ) series held yesterday morning at the beautiful Alegre Beach Resort and Spa in Sogod , Cebu .
A former member of the national training pool three years ago,Calinawan , who came out of the 1K swim leg in the clear and pristine water of Alegre, behind Ralph Arche and Hongkong entry Mark Weiss, made his move in the 30K bike leg and steadily left his opponents to end up solo winner after the culminating 7.5K run leg, clocking 1:41.6.
Arche finished second in 1:45.8 while Weiss completed the distance in1:50.0 to take third place overall in the event that attraced close to 40 triathletes including lone female entry Lorhil Echavez , 24 ,a civil engineering graduate from the University of San Carlos in Talamban, Cebu. She finished 8th overall in 1:59.3 to take the women's crown.
The husband and wife tandem of Gerard and Tina Reyes negotiated the distance in 2:10.0 to take the title in the relay event of the race that was also supported by the Philippine Sports Commission ( PSC ) and the local governments of Sogod and Danao.
Race director Boying Rodriguez, who is also the Danao Sports Commission chairman, also competed in the competition and finished a strong second in the 50 to 54 age group, " Sogod and Alegre Beach Resort and Spa are always open to the develomental efforts of the Triathlon Association f the Philippines ( TRAP ) to disover and tap new talents here in Cebu, " said Rodriguez who was also supported by Danao City's task force Delta in organizing the event.
The SPEEDO-NAGT series has three remaining legs for the year in los Banos , Laguna, Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao, and the final leg in Ayala Aabang.