Mindanaoan John Alcala made a powerful last kick to win the men's overall title convincingly.
Alcala, a resident of Dipolog City, started the swim leg at Baywalk Park in sixth place overall but quickly caught up to early leaders Fer Casares, Dutch Eric van den Linden, and Satar Salem with a third-best time on the bike.
He then went all out in the final run leg to win the 1.9 km swim-90 km bike-21 km run in 4:32:20 at the Ramon Mitra Jr. Athletic Complex.
The TRI SND Barracuda spearhead, who recorded times of 34:52 in the swim and 2:24:22 in the bike, charged home with that scorching run in the hot conditions, and Alcala finished third in the IM 70.3 Cebu last August.
Alcala turned in a fast 1:29:11, clocking in the final leg that decided the outcome of the grueling race.
After the bike stage, Jailani Lamama and Mervin Santiago of the Sante Barley TRI team took over, but neither could keep up with the big-stepping Alcala.
The former finished in second place in 4:37:23 with leg times of 34:04 (swim), 2:21:13 (bike), and 1:37:46 (run), and the latter settled for third in 4:39:46 with 31:30 in the swim, 2:24:49 in the bike, and 1:38:57 in the run.
Choo, however, was the star of the show. After finishing fourth in the swim (32:58), he failed to impress, but he more than made up for it by winning the bike leg in 2:34:22 and the run leg in 1:45:10 for a time of 4:57:46 overall.
Mieko Carey of Guam finished third in 5:19:53, 20 minutes ahead of Leyann Ramo (5:18:53).
The 35-year-old Choo's success was even more impressive because she won in Puerto Princesa just one week after dominating the IM 70.3 Langkawi in Malaysia, demonstrating her incredible strength, excellent conditioning, and endurance.
After starting her training again a month after giving birth in late May, she competed in her first half-IRONMAN race at the IM 70.3 Langkawi.
Alcala and Choo received P150,000 each from Puerto Princesa Mayor Lucilo Bayron for finishing first among all male and female triathletes and claiming the title of the first IM 70.3 Puerto Princesa winners.
In the season-ending competition, which was run by the IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events, Inc. and attracted over 1,200 triathletes from 25 different countries,
Alcala easily won the 25-29 age-group title. Lamama finished second, and two-time SEA Games gold winner Fer Casares finished third in 4:41:12.
The season for endurance athletes in 2023 will be more significant and exciting thanks to several international competitions that are already scheduled and will welcome back participants from all over the world. (Romeo Braceros Jr.)
Photo: Ramz Guanco
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