Dutch and Japanese Athletes Triumph in Grueling Century Tuna IRONMAN Philippines
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Dutch athlete Eric van der Linden and Japan’s Chigusa Yamashita triumphed in the Century Tuna IRONMAN Philippines, overcoming challenging conditions to secure the overall championships.
Hailing from Schagen, North Holland, the 49-year-old van der Linden posted an impressive time of 9:56:20 for the grueling 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride, and 42km run. Despite facing rough waters, he managed to maintain his lead, outperforming South Africa’s Michael Kramer, who made a spirited comeback. Van der Linden’s exceptional riding skills resulted in a remarkable time of 5:04:21 in the cycling event. Despite enduring a challenging run in drizzling rain, he finished four minutes ahead, clocking in at 3:44:03.
Kramer, who recorded times of 1:01:36 in the swim and 5:22:21 in the bike leg, concluded the race in 3:31:00. However, his total time of 10:00:45 fell short of his attempted comeback. The last participant crossed the finish line at 11:53 p.m.
Richard Hall from Hong Kong secured the third position with a time of 10:14:18, Giuseppe Solla from Italy finished fourth in 10:15:32, and Jet Ramos emerged as the top Filipino finisher, claiming fifth place with a time of 10:20:34. The event was organized by The IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events, Inc.
In the women’s category, Yamashita built an eight-minute lead over her compatriot Ayaka Suzuki, completing the swim stage in 1:11:41. Similar to van der Linden, she showcased her expertise in cycling, completing it in 5:55:52. Although her running performance slowed down slightly, she finished with a total time of 11:30:02, securing a comfortable 14-minute lead over Suzuki. Suzuki recorded a time of 1:19:26 in the swim and faced challenges during the bike leg, completing it in 6:19:22. However, she made an impressive comeback with a division-best time of 3:51:46 in the run.
Victoria Hill from Great Britain claimed the third position with a time of 11:47:31. Kuboth Rena from Japan finished fourth with a time of 11:55:04, and Alessandra Castaneda matched Ramos’ fifth-place finish, crossing the line with a time of 12:17:46.
Just like Subic Bay 70.3 winners John Alcala and Ines Santiago, Ramos and Castaneda received a prize of $1,000 each for being the top Filipino finishers, courtesy of Century Pacific Food COO and EVP Greg Banzon. The winners of the full distance event also earned qualification for this year’s World Triathlon Championships.
Van der Linden (M45-49) and Yamashita (F30-34) were also victorious in their respective age group categories, alongside Kramer (M30-34), Ramos (M40-44), Hall (M50-54), Rena (F18-24), Suzuki (F35-39), and Hill (F45-49).
A total of fifty men’s slots were awarded for the IM world meet in Nice, France on September 10, while twenty-five slots were assigned for women in the Kailua-Kona, Hawaii meet on October 14.
The event also saw other age group winners, including Ilya Fedorov from Russia (M18-24–13:15:43), Auttapol Charungwut from Thailand (M25-29–11:11:52), Chicco Avram from Israel (M35-39–10:59:22), Dougin Walker from the US (M55-59-11:07:24), Stephen Farrell from New Zealand (M60-64-11:19:59), and Haku Kodaira from Japan (M65-69-13:35:40).
In the women’s category, the age group winners were Ngan Lam from Vietnam (F25-29-14:31:11), Svetlana Kovaleva (F40-44-13:04:45), Phuong Vuong from the US (F50-54-13:58:13), and Jill Walker from the US (F55-59-12:59:21).
