PALEMBANG - The Philippine triathlon team finished in sixth place in the mixed relay event on Sunday at the Jakabaring Sports City, capping off their impressive showing in the 2018 Asian Games.
The team, which composed of Claire Adorna, John Chicano, Kim Mangrobang, and Mark Hosana, finished with a time of 1:39:08. Japan, meanwhile, earned gold and completed a triple crown after also winning the men's and women's event. Korea earned silver and Hong Kong claimed bronze.
"Top six is good for the Philippines and we did our best," shared Mangrobang.
"We're so happy because all our hard work paid off," quipped Adorna. "Our team work really showed today. We can't wish for anything else."
In the mixed relay, each athlete has to complete all three disciplines before tagging a teammate, in the order of female-male-female-male. Each one has to go through the 300m swim, 6.7km bike, and near-2km run.
Japan set the tone early and kept their huge advantage with gold medalists Yuko Takahashi and Jumpei Furuya in their roster. The breakaway by Japan led to the formation of a trailing second group composing of Korea, Hong Kong, China, and Chinese Taipei. The Philippines was left in a group of its own in sixth place for nearly halfway through the competition.
The Philippines failed to win a medal, but it still bested its Southeast Asian counterparts. Rivals Indonesia and Malaysia made it into the top 10 while Thailand placed 11th.
"Even though we already know are placing in Southeast Asia, we won't settle there because our target is really the Asian Games, the Olympics," Adorna pointed out. "We need to push ourselves hard.
"And let's not belittle Southeast Asia countries because we know they also train. In the last SEA Games, they also improved. We have to keep working hard," she added.
The Philippine triathlon team concluded their Asian Games with a lot of positives. Kim Mangrobang finished seventh in the women's event while Kim Kilgroe placed ninth. In men's John Chicano also finished in the top ten. Still, there is room for improvement.
"[At the] Asian games level, we still need to work a lot, and we will continue," Triathlon Association of the Philippines president Tom Carrasco said. "We should invest more money in training and competing."
"Hopefully in the next Asian Games, the Philippines will have a better placing. As of now, we see where we stand. So more training and more hard work, and I think it will all pay off in the next four years," said Adorna.