IRONMAN 70.3 honors Davao’s 11 tribes

THE Alveo IRONMAN 70.3 Philippines goes diverse as it marks its return to Davao on March 26 at Azuela Cove, unveiling an 11-man Team Maisugon competition in honor of the 11 tribes of the host city with a winner-take-all prize of P550,000 at stake.

“Every IRONMAN race has its own uniqueness per location. This is our way of showing how this can be diverse. We are showcasing the 11 tribes of Davao City and it’s going to be a prestigious award only in Davao City,” said Mayor Sebastian Duterte. The grand prize was initially pegged at P500,000, put up by the city government, but Davao Light Power Company, Inc. added P50,000 to the purse.

The special category is open to teams made up of 11 age-groupers, regardless of age, gender, race, nationality or color. The team with the fastest total time will win the coveted the Tribu Maisugon award, including a perpetual trophy handcrafted by noted homegrown artist Kublai Millan.

The Tribu Maisugon team competition will thus be included in the third IRONMAN 70.3, which Davao City is hosting after 2018 and 2019. It will also mark the pros’ return to one of the highlight events of each triathlon season and the only pro-laced race offered this year, according to the organizing The IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events, Inc.

The four-day tournament is organized by the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines, in partnership with R&A, Monde Nissin, Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, National Golf Association of the Philippines and Manila Southwoods through chairman Robert John Sobrepeña.

The Queen Sirikit Cup has been important stepping stone to international fame for past champions like Karrie Webb and Minjee Lee of Australia, Lydia Ko of New Zealand, Feng Shanshan of China, Ai Miyazato of Japan, Pak Se-ri and Shin Ji-yae of Korea and Tseng YaNi of Chinese Taipei.

“It’s a continuity of first two (IRONMAN 70.3 Davao) races – from race for peace, culture, then now, it’s a race for oneness,” said Millan.

Registration is ongoing. For details, log on to ironman.com/im703davao-philippines-athletes. AFP