Jorry Ycong and Kristiane Glendale Lim head a pack of triathletes targeting a second straight win in their respective age-group categories with an eye on the overall championship in the Sun Life 5150 Triathlon reeling off 9 July at the Bellevue Resort on Panglao Island.

Ycong topped the men's 30-34 division while Lim ruled the 35-39 side with nearly the same clocking of 2:14 over the 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-km bike and 10-km run distance in last year's staging of the Olympic distance series in Bohol that also marked the sport's return after a two-year hiatus due to pandemic.

The British couple of Nick and Jo Cudmore are also going flat out to do a reprise of their feats in the 65-69 and 55-59 classes, respectively, while Kimberly Paquibot seeks to post a notch higher this time after finishing second to Moira Erediano in the youngest 15-19 category of the seventh staging of the event in Bohol.

While the locals look to dominate the race designed for athletes aiming to embrace multi-sport racing and reach the IRONMAN level, a slew of foreign bets from at least 11 countries are all coming into the event with the same resolve as the Filipino bidders.

Heading the contingent are seven Malaysians and four each from Australia and United Kingdom with the US and France fielding in three athletes each in the event to be held as part of the Sandugo Festival, a project of Gov. Aris Aumentado.

Other age-group titles (men's and women's) to be contested in the event sponsored by Sun Life Philippines are 20-25, 25-29, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54 and 60-64.

Spicing up the individual race are the relay competitions and the Sunrise Sprint or S2, a short-distance event and a sub-category to the 5150 series for beginners and upcoming athletes wanting to get the feel of tri-racing.

It is set over 750-meter open-water swim, 20-km bike and 5-km run.