SUBIC – John Patrick Ciron achieved a remarkable victory in his IRONMAN 70.3 debut, topping a field of elite triathletes at the Century Tuna IRONMAN 70.3 Subic Bay event held on Sunday.

In a display of exceptional endurance and determination, Ciron, a duathlon specialist from Iriga City, completed the course in a time of 4:37:28, which included a 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike ride, and 21 km run.

Ciron's performance was particularly noted for his strong finishing run, clocking 1:28:17, which allowed him to outpace 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 Cebu champion August Benedicto, who finished in second place with a total time of 4:40:58, recording a run time of 1:33:58. Mervin Santiago completed the podium, taking third with a time of 4:42:40 and a half-marathon effort of 1:36:40.

In an interview, Ciron shared his mindset during the race, stating that he aimed to catch his competitors in the second lap of the run to secure his chances of winning.

His split times included 30:45 in the swim and 2:33:21 on the bike.

Despite facing challenging conditions, he maintained focus and completed the event under pressure.

The race attracted nearly a thousand athletes from over 30 countries, with Ciron standing out in the competitive atmosphere.

Notably, both Benedicto and Santiago recorded swim times of 31:19 and 31:02, respectively, along with bike segment times of 2:30:06 and 2:29:44.

In the women's category, Indonesian triathlete Dea Salsabila Putri clinched the title with a time of 5:26:22, achieving split times of 27:44 for the swim, 3:10:21 for the bike, and 1:41:07 for the run.

Local favorite Erika Burgos managed to secure second place with a total time of 5:32:30, despite battling stomach issues during the race.

Burgos's leg times included 27:52 in swimming, 3:16:05 in biking, and 1:41:57 in running.

Nicole Andaya took third place with an overall time of 5:37:09.

Both Benedicto and Burgos were awarded the Bagong Bayani honors, recognizing their status as current and former Filipino national athletes.

In addition to the main IRONMAN event, Darrell Bada emerged as the overall winner in the Sunrise Sprint, which comprised a 750 m open-water swim, a 20 km bike ride, and a 5 km run, finishing with a time of 1:06:29. His splits included 09:58 in swimming, 34:28 in biking, and 18:04 in running, narrowly defeating Dayshaun Ramos, who clocked in at 1:06:35. Peter del Rosario rounded out the podium with a time of 1:10:02.

Katrina Salazar dominated the women's Sunrise Sprint, finishing with a total time of 1:19:50, ahead of Hanzel Barrameda (1:33:39) and Mikaela Caruncho (1:34:15).

Salazar also won her age group category, while other notable age-group champions included Isabelle Manlulo, Sienna Flores, Sherlyn Tagara, Joyce Evangelista, Ani Brown, Rio Mayuga, and Mariette Scoop across various age divisions.

In the men’s division of the Sunrise Sprint, Daniel Cadavos led the 20–24 category, along with several others topping their age groups, reflecting the widespread participation and talent showcased in the event.