Sunrise Sprint set

A big-hit in its inaugural staging, Sunrise Sprint is back with a promise of more exciting action and bigger number of participants when it is held Sunday in Subic.

Dubbed as S2, the race features a 750m open-water swim, 20km bike-ride and a 5km-run for beginners seeking to immerse themselves into the sport of triathlon and enthusiasts who want to race without having to worry about long periods of training.

It also aimed at providing a venue for those triathletes out to make a comeback in the ever-growing sport.

Francis Cruz, Austine Morfe and Bernard Sarmiento, who took the top three places in last year’s S2 inaugurals, are expected to lead the cast along with the top finishers in the women’s side, including siblings Victorija and Veronica Deldio and Lourdes Ramos.

Produced and organized by Sunrise Events, Inc., S2 also serves as a side-event to the Regent 5150 Triathlon, held for the third straight year with an elite international field slugging it out for top honors in the pro division.

Towering champ Sam Betten banners the field in the local version of the world’s largest Olympic distance triathlon series also set Sunday with the 6-foot-4 Betten going for a rare three-peat against veterans and fellow Aussies Ben Allen, the 2016 Australian ITU Cross Triathlon champion and a former XTERRA As-Pac titlist, Mitch Robins and Dan Brown.

American Iain Alexandridis, a consistent top 10 Ironman 70.3 finisher, is also in the title hunt in the 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run event put up by the country’s leading snack manufacturing company.