The Philippines opened Day 1 of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games triathlon competitions in dominant fashion, capturing gold in the mixed team relay and sweeping all three events on Wednesday at Laem Mae Phim Beach in Rayong, Thailand.
Kim Remolino finally broke through with his first SEA Games gold after previously winning two silvers and a bronze in individual events, helping the team finish with a time of 1:30:31 in the relay.
He joined the morning’s champions—Kira Ellis and Raven Alcoseba (women’s relay) and Fernando Casares (men’s relay)—in the winners’ circle.
This marks Casares’ second gold in the mixed team relay, having also won the inaugural event in 2019 in the Philippines, the last time the event was held.
The 29-year-old veteran faced a brief setback when he was assessed a 10-second penalty during the swim-to-bike transition. Yet his experience proved decisive, as he crossed the finish line four seconds ahead of the Indonesian anchor.
The 2019 relay champions included fellow SEA Games individual gold medalists John Chicano, Claire Adorna, and Kim Mangrobang.
“The MTR was around 11 a.m., and it’s very hot in Thailand. I don’t do well with heat, so I just tried to psych myself up to race for the team. I knew it would be hard to get a gap, let alone keep up with Indonesia, but I gave it my best,” said Ellis, who had also led the women’s relay earlier in the day.
“As our anchor, Fer is a strong cyclist and runner, so we were cheering him on the whole time to catch up. He got a penalty, and it was still very close—my heart rate was jumping up and down,” the 19-year-old added.
The Filipino triathletes will shift their focus to duathlon action on Thursday as they prepare for the individual triathlon events on Friday, aiming for a clean sweep of gold medals.
