Sitchon silver finish in age group of PH triathlon

Manny Sitchon shows off his silver medal at the finish line of the Cavinti Triathlon in Laguna, Philippines last Dec. 11. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Manny Sitchon continued to defy Father Time after finishing second in the over 60 division of the Cavinti Triathlon in Laguna, Philippines last Dec. 11.

The 64-year-old Island Business Systems and Supplies employee finished the 600m swim, 20km bike, and 6km run sprint triathlon in 1:58:48.6.

Sitchon said the Cavinti Triathlon served as his return to the sport as he previously thought of retiring because of a nagging knee injury. 

Manny Sitchon starts the run portion of the Cavinti Triathlon in Laguna, Philippines last Dec. 11. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

“My reason for joining the race was I wanted to gauge myself if I could still join triathlons. I’ve been bothered by a knee injury since March 2022 so I really haven’t trained in the run since then. I’ve continuously trained on the bike and swim, but in running  nothing. I would be happy to run 8km a week on Saipan because of my injury,” he told Saipan Tribune.

Isidro Manuel topped the over 60 age group after he crossed the finish line in 1:38:29.0, while third place went to Arnel Coching who clocked in at 2:15:38.6.

“The first placer in our age group, I learned, is a 61-year-old ultramarathoner… I did best in the swim and bike splits because I observed at the transition area that I was far behind, but when  I reached the run as expected a lot of them overtook me,” said Sitchon.

He added that approximately 60 athletes from various triathlon clubs took part in the Cavinti Triathlon.

“That’s why I was a bit sad that I was alone and didn’t have a teammate during the race. Although everyone was friendly,” said Sitchon, who has been joining triathlons since 2000.

As far as how the course went, the president of Triathlon Association of the CNMI said the Cavinti Triathlon was a mix bag. 

“The water was so murky that you cannot see anything beneath. The bike route was mostly uphill because of the remoteness of the province and the best thing about it is the run portion that was mostly downhill.”

He also was thankful for the organizers for opting for the sprint triathlon rather than a full triathlon. 

“It was rerouted into these distances to avoid the residents of the surrounding community, most especially the bike portion. It was held in the community of Cavinti, Laguna. It’s a barangay in Laguna that promotes its lakes (Lumot Lake) as a tourist attraction.”

Now that he was able to complete a triathlon anew, Sitchon may have to rethink his retirement plans for the sport. 

“I was about to retire from triathlon, but the itch to race keeps pulling me back to join.”
As far as overall results, Dash Ramirez topped the Cavinti Triathlon with a time of 1:07:57.1, while Maria Araceli Xerrah Sales was the top female triathlete after tearing the tape in 1:49:22.1.