PINOYS MEET WORLD: Phl duathletes plot Australian training camp

After Merry Joy Trupa, Kim Mangrobang and Franklin Yee secured their slots for the World Games, the Philippine duathlon team is looking to set up a training camp in Australia.

National team coach Melvin Fausto told DAILY TRIBUNE that they are looking to start as early as April to maximize their training time.

The World Games will be held from 7 to 17 August in Chengdu, China.

“We are already working on that. I already talked to the Australian coach there, Rafael Baugh from Perth. We will be working on the details like the budget and the dates that will be finalized,” Fausto said.

“My proposal is from April to May and another training camp there from July to August. We will start as early as April.”

“This is all subject for approval by the Philippine Sports Commission. When the World Games schedule was posted, I prepared it early as a coach and I was already looking for training camps in China and Taiwan last year.”

Mangrobang, Trupa and Yee had made incredible feats in the Asia Triathlon Duathlon Championships in Manama, Bahrain, over the weekend to earn their World Games berths.

In the women’s duathlon, Trupa finished with a silver medal in the elite women division after clocking in one hour, 29 minutes and 16 seconds in the eight-woman race.

Meanwhile, Mangrobang tallied a time of 1:33:14 hours to finish with a bronze medal.

The top four Asian finishers in the Elite Men and Women categories will get an automatic berth to the World Games.

Yee might have finished in fifth place in the Elite Men category after clocking in 1:17:55, but he was still able to get one of the outright berths due to the other competitors in the 22-man race coming from non-Asian countries.

The Philippines has tied its number of delegates from the 2022 World Games in Birmingham Alabama that had Mangrobang, Fer Casares and John Chicano.

In Birmingham, Casares finished in 14th place in the men’s category after clocking in 1:53:57 and finished in 19th place with Mangrobang in the Mixed Team category after submitting a time of 1:23:20.

Chicano wasn’t able to compete in the World Games due to visa problems.

With Mangrobang unable to finish the race in the 2022 World Games, Fausto said Mangrobang was eager to run it back and be one of the delegates for the Philippines.

“Kim has potential in duathlon aside from her age and maturity in the sport. She has a lot of experience in duathlon and she told me before going back to the United States that she wants to compete in the World Games,” Fausto said.

Triathlon Philippines president Tom Carrasco said with the World Games venue nearer, he expects the national team to do better.

“It should be better because we have more time. So, we expect to do better this time,” Carrasco said.