Yee, Trupa defend respective titles in the National Age Duathlon

FRANKLIN YEE and Mary Joy Trupa successfully defended their respective titles in the elite sprint category of the National Age Duathlon staged over the weekend at the Villar City in Las Piñas.

The 23-year-old Mr. Yee, who hails from Bogo, Cebu, clocked 56.20 minutes in ruling the men’s side while Ms. Trupa, 23, timed in 1:06:51 in topping the women’s side of the five-kilometer (km) run, 20-km bike and 2.5-km run race.

Mr. Yee, who improved on his 57.13 time from last year’s title conquest, finished ahead of Iriga’s John Patrick Ciron and Baguio City’s Maynard Pecson, who checked in at 56.43 and 58.56, respectively.

Lady Samantha Jhunace Corpuz (1:10:12) and Dhana Victoria Seda-Lomboy (1:11:57) finished second and third in the women’s section, respectively.

Meanwhile, Hermogenes Branzuela (57:46) reigned supreme in the men’s junior elite division of the race backed by Villar City, Gatorade, Milo, C-Vitt and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Eric Hechanova (1:01:35) was second and Anxader Gomez (1:03:06) third.

Anisha Eunice Caluya (1:09:54), Candace Marie Socito (1:15:58) and Scottie Lee Awitan (1:20:20) were the top three finishers in the women’s junior elite class of the race that is part of Triathlon Philippines’ grassroots and talent identification program. — Joey Villar