Vets Antonio, McKagan lead fundraising race winners

Veteran triathletes Florence Antonio and Kimiko McKagan ruled their respective events to lead the list of winners in yesterday’s Islander Rent-A-Car Road To Ironman Triathlon and Bike Race at the Pau Pau Beach Park.

Kimiko McKagan smiles as she nears the finish line at the Pau Pau Beach parking lot to rule the women’s division of yesterday’s Islander Rent-A-Car Road To Ironman Triathlon and Bike Race. (Jon Perez)

The race—divided into a triathlon and mountain and road bike events—is a fundraising event for Erico Castro, who will be competing with Peter Presley in this year’s Cobra Ironman 70.3 in Cebu City, Philippines.

Antonio was the top individual male with a combined time of 1:10:31 in the 1-kilometer swim, 20K bike, and 5K run around the island’s northern side. Youngster David Boyer was 56 seconds behind at 1:11:27 to settle for runner-up honors, while Von Adrian B. Libayan, another teen participant, came in third with 1:20:07.

Antonio was the ninth swimmer out of the water with a time of 15:22 behind Boyer (10:58) and Libayan (11:11). He was again third after the bike behind the two teen racers but managed to pass them in the bike portion of the race to clinch top honors.

McKagan topped the women’s side with a combined time of 1:11:48, while Tomomi Sato settled for second place at 1:24:45 and Mamiko Berger came in third at 1:25:53.

The father-and-daughter team of Colin and Jinju Thompson was the fastest relay team with 1:18:03. Jinju, who was the second fastest swimmer at 10:59 or just a second behind Boyer, took on the swim and run legs while her dad completed the bike portion.

The three-person Team BRX—composed of swimmer Ben Tabin, biker Xander Khan, and runner Rommel Buenaflor—finished second clocking 1:20:03, while the duo of Tiffany Lin and Joshua Berger placed third at 1:21:07.

Team Fishing Tackle’s Jeanie Thompson, Jorge Bartolata, and Daniel Marzan was the other squad that competed and submitted a time of 1:26:54. They could have finished second or third but Marzan ran more than 5K after missing the turn around at FEBC.

Nap Dizon was the overall winner in the road bike category, beating youngster Jerome Diyco in a neck-and-neck race to the finish line. He clocked in 1:15:59 or three seconds ahead of Diyco (1:16:02) while Bob Ferrer was third (1:18:39).

Dencio Bautista (1:18:41), Ariel Garcia (1:18:43), and Cezar Fortaleza (1:21:30) were the Top 3 finishers in the 36-over road bike category, while Andrew Estepa (52:10) and Marjorie Marfega (53:32) ruled the male and female beginners division.

Richard Asuncion was the fastest rider in the MTB division with a time of 56:09 followed closely by Mark Isip (56:13) and Ferdinand Ramos (1:00:01).

Jay Diyco was the lone participant in the 31-45 age group (1:23:48), while Rommel Isidro (1:05:40), Gerry Esquivel (1:07:47), and Ponce Corotan (1:16:17) came in 1-2-3 in the 46-over.

Rodney Catalla (51:10) and Arvin Daluyen (1:24:40) were the Top 2 male in the beginners division with Vernice Ronda (57:16) and Claire Lanuza (1:03:40) duplicating the feat in the women’s side.

A total of 49 individuals participated in the fundraising event where the Top 3 finishers were given medals and other prizes.