Langit wins gold in Thai sportsfest; Javier bronze
March 27, 2011
Manila Bulletin
Not even an intensity seven earthquake days before the race start could dampen the spirits of the Philippine delegation that is seeing action in the 2011 Mekong River Multi-Sports Festival at Chiangsean district, Chiangrai Province, Thailand Lea Coline Langit had the Philippine flag soaring high with a gold medal finish in the Asian Aquathlon (1,500m swim, 5K run) event after Robeno Javier took a bronze medal showing in the Asian duathlon (10k run, 40k bike, 5k run) race.
Both races were held Friday and the one-gold, one-bronze medal finish surpassed the two bronzes delivered by duathletes August Benedicto and Monica Torres in 2010 edition.
It was also Langit’s second Asian Aquathlon title after bagging the said crown in 2009 in Palembang Indonesia. The said event also saw her claiming the bronze medal in triathlon.
The feat however did not come without a sweat as the team and the rest of the competitors have horrowing experience Wednesday night when a magnitude 7 earthquake rocked the province.
“Around 9 p.m., we experienced the earthquake and it shook us all up a little including the stuff in our rooms. There were aftershocks all night so most people either slept out in the street or in the massage room on the first floor, an easier getaway than the 4th,” said coach Dan Brown who led the six athletes and three officials sent by Triathlon Association of the Philippines and financed by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Despite the lack of sleep, Langit was still in her best form come race day as she anchored her campaign on her strength in the swim to submit the Asian best time at 36 minutes and 19 seconds.
Langit came out of the water second behind world’s 25th ranked triathlete Rakda Vodickova of Czech Republic at 13 minutes and 59 seconds as she enjoyed a minute and 13 seconds advantage over challenger Hoi Long of Macau.
She relaxed in the run leg for a slow 22:20 time but the huge gap Langit had against Long was more that enough to cushion the late surge of her rival who finished fourth overall in the 2010 Asian Games triathlon in Guangzhou, China.
Long took the silver with 36:21 while Chinese Taipei’s Chang Luo-Yi bagged the bronze with 36:23 time. Vodickov was not qualified for the Asian meet but won the prize in the international category.
Meanwhile Robeno kept in stride with Japanese duathletes Fukaura Yuya and Kurihara Masaaki for a bronze medal finish in one hour, 59 minutes and 34 seconds.
The performance is a fitting follow-up after Robeno also claimed the bronze medal in the Subic Asian Duathlon Open held last November.
Both races were held Friday and the one-gold, one-bronze medal finish surpassed the two bronzes delivered by duathletes August Benedicto and Monica Torres in 2010 edition.
It was also Langit’s second Asian Aquathlon title after bagging the said crown in 2009 in Palembang Indonesia. The said event also saw her claiming the bronze medal in triathlon.
The feat however did not come without a sweat as the team and the rest of the competitors have horrowing experience Wednesday night when a magnitude 7 earthquake rocked the province.
“Around 9 p.m., we experienced the earthquake and it shook us all up a little including the stuff in our rooms. There were aftershocks all night so most people either slept out in the street or in the massage room on the first floor, an easier getaway than the 4th,” said coach Dan Brown who led the six athletes and three officials sent by Triathlon Association of the Philippines and financed by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Despite the lack of sleep, Langit was still in her best form come race day as she anchored her campaign on her strength in the swim to submit the Asian best time at 36 minutes and 19 seconds.
Langit came out of the water second behind world’s 25th ranked triathlete Rakda Vodickova of Czech Republic at 13 minutes and 59 seconds as she enjoyed a minute and 13 seconds advantage over challenger Hoi Long of Macau.
She relaxed in the run leg for a slow 22:20 time but the huge gap Langit had against Long was more that enough to cushion the late surge of her rival who finished fourth overall in the 2010 Asian Games triathlon in Guangzhou, China.
Long took the silver with 36:21 while Chinese Taipei’s Chang Luo-Yi bagged the bronze with 36:23 time. Vodickov was not qualified for the Asian meet but won the prize in the international category.
Meanwhile Robeno kept in stride with Japanese duathletes Fukaura Yuya and Kurihara Masaaki for a bronze medal finish in one hour, 59 minutes and 34 seconds.
The performance is a fitting follow-up after Robeno also claimed the bronze medal in the Subic Asian Duathlon Open held last November.
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