SUBIC — Monica Torres made sure that a Filipino would continue to rule a multi-discipline athletic event.
Monday morning, the 34-year-old was a head above the rest in the 30th Southeast Asian Games Duathlon event at the Freeport Zone.
Torres clocked in at two hours, eight minutes, and 44 seconds in a dominant performance.
“Matagal na ako naglalaro pero first time ko lang na nag-SEA Games,” she said.
She logged 38:16 in the first run, then 1:08:23 in the bike part of the two-discipline event. However, she slowed down in the last run with a time of 20:56.
“Bale sa last run na po na kahit sinabi nila malaki ang lane ko. Hindi maganda kondisyon ng katawan ko so nahirapan ako. Basta bago nag-start, nagsuka-suka ako, so doon pa lang naglabas na ako ng konting nutrition kaya baka sa huli maubusan ako,” she said, as she experienced stomach pain prior to the event.
Her early lead was good enough to fend off Thailand’s Pareeya Sonsem (2:11:18) and Vietnam’s Thi Phuong Trinh Nguyen (2:14:20).
Torres’ teammate Jeisei Sabado finished in sixth with a time of 2:19:17.
Earlier in the day, Filipino Joey De Los Reyes finished second in the men’s side with a time of 1:53:04.
It was a neck-and-neck race between him and Jauhari Johan of Indonesia, but a late surge by the Filipino was not enough to take the lead from the Indonesian.
Srinate Nattawut of Thailand logged in at 1:53:05.
Jarwin Banatao finished in fifth with a time of 1:55:19.
