DESPITE falling ill due to food poisoning, Remolino and Fer Casares still delivered medals for Team Philippines in the triathlon competition of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF POC MEDIA POOL
NAGOYA, Japan — The five-man Philippine triathlon team is fully primed to kick off its campaign this Sunday in the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya.
The squad, which had international training camps in Spain, Indonesia, and China, has completed its course familiarization at the Gamagori City Triathlon venue in Aichi Prefecture.
"They are all sharp and battle-ready," said Triathlon Philippines president Tom Carrasco.
Filipino-Spanish athlete Fernando Casares, a two-time individual Southeast Asian (SEA) Games champion, will spearhead the men's team alongside Kim Remolino and Inaki Lorbes. The men's race is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Japan Time.
Veteran national team mainstay Kim Mangrobang, a four-time individual SEA Games titlist, and Raven Alcoseba will anchor the women's campaign at 11:00 AM. The team will be missing top bet Kira Ellis, who was forced to withdraw after suffering injuries in a road accident during a training camp in France.
Racing against some of the world's top-ranked triathletes, including those from host country Japan, the Philippines— supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee and Philippine Sports Commission—7th place, achieved by Claire Adorna in 2014 and matched by Mangrobang in 2018.
On Monday, the team will turn its focus to the Mixed Relay event, where they stand a good chance following their gold-medal sweep at last year's SEA Games in Thailand.
