Mangrobang bags triple crown in Zambales Multisports Festival

Kim Mangrobang completed her bid for a triple crown on Sunday as she captured the women's title of the Zambales Multisports Festival Black Sands Triathon at the Dawal Beach Resort in Candelaria, Zambales. The 19-year-old Mangrobang finished the 1.5-km. swim, 50-km. bike and 12-km. run course in three hours, 17 minutes and four seconds for the Grand Slam. She posted victories in the duathlon and the open water swimming in this multi-sports event organized by Zambales Gov. Hermogenes "Jun" Ebdane. "Medyo pagod," said Mangrobang after winning her third race. "Pero maganda ang performance ko dahil kundisyon ang katawan ko dahil all-year-round ang training ko." Mangrobang, part of the national team of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP), posted times of 24:11 in the swim, 1:47:56 in the bike and 1:04:57 in the run. Her overall time was enough to beat some men competitors in the event chaired by provincial administrator Jun Omar Ebdane. Canadian Matt O'Halloran, meanwhile, claimed his second crown in dominating fashion by winning the men's race in 2:44:18. The 25-year-old O'Halloran topped the race ahead by 14 minutes over 20-year-old Leerams Chicano (2:58:18), while Camarines Sur native Benjamin Raja crossed the line 17:17 after O'Halloran finished in 3:01:35. O'Halloran, who came into the race fresh from winning the men's open water swimming title, paced himself at the start, but managed to top the swim in front of Dawal Beach Resort at 20:27. He built an eight-minute lead after the bike (1:30:56) where he finished in only 52:53. "People here want to start fast, and then they go down, but I like to control and pace myself. When I started overtaking other people, that's when I picked up my pace," said the Subic-based O'Halloran. He will next prepare for an O3 (an event, which has thrice the distance of a normal triathlon competition) in Ko Samui Island in Thailand on April 27. O'Halloran said he was impressed with the course in Zambales, which the local government looks to turn into a sports and tourist attraction for the province. "I was very surprised with the quality of the course. There are lots of variety. The road was very well-controlled and the run was nice and quiet," said O'Halloran. In the age-group, assistant national duathlon coach Jeff Valdez copped the 30-39 years age division with a time of 3:06:04. Philip Atento finished second with 3:08:10 while Rayzon Galdonez took third place with 3:14:02. Tots Olendan booked the Iba Cycling Challenge in the first day of the Zambales Sports Festival Friday. - KY, RCJ, Reuben Terrado, GMA News