ZAMBOANGA CITY — A fast and exciting contest is shaping up for Sunday’s 2nd Hermosa Triathlon, the climax of the city’s month-long “celebration of colors” called the La Hermosa Festival.
Triathletes and relay entries from all over the country, particularly from Mindanao make up the motley field of beginners and elite athletes as the city tries to stamp itself as a major sports tourism destination.
Headlining the elite field is Claire Adorna, women’s triathlon champion of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore and mixed relay gold medalist in 2019 SEA Games in Subic.
Mayor John Dalipe is expected to beat the gong that will signal the start of the 1.6-km swim off the city’s Plaza del Mar, a 45-km bike ride through the Zamboanga West Coastal Road, and an 11-km run through the scenic R.T. Lim Boulevard. He will be assisted by City Administrator Mario Yanga and City Tourism Officer Sarita Sebastian-Hernandez, co-chairs of the La Hermosa Festival organizing committee.
The swim-bike-run event, which the city first hosted in 2019, was sidelined for two-years by the Covid-19 pandemic along with the rest of the month-long activities of the festival, which is also known as Fiesta Pilar honoring the city’s patron saint, Our Lady of Pilar. Mayor Dalipe dubbed this year’s revival as “Celebracion de Colores.”
The festival has been described as one of the oldest and most colorful of the country’s religious and cultural fiestas.
A line of colorful vintas serves as the buoy line for swimmers, who will cover two loops of the 800-meter course with spectators watching from the water’s edge on the city’s iconic Plaza del Mar.
The new bike route is fast and flat. It covers 45 kms to the Zamboanga Economic Zone and back through the Zamboanga West Coastal Road. The run course has also been revised from that of 2019. The 11-km two-loop finale will now start and end at the Plaza del Mar, which is also the venue for the awarding of prizes.
Cash prizes courtesy of Mayor Dalipe will be awarded to the top five overall finishers of both male and female categories, including P30,000 to the winners. The top three finishers of the age group will also receive prizes, including P5,000 to the winner. Prizes will also be awarded to the all-men, all-women, and mixed relays.
In cooperation with local partners, the Zamboanga Trail Runners (ZTR), the race is organized by Fuerza Multisports — the event organizing arm of Trimac Coaching under Head Coach and Race Director Jojo “Jomac” Macalintal.
Sponsors of the event are Nature’s Spring Water, Pocari Sweat, Compressport, Ceepo, Unison Bikes, Cignal TV, Globe, Unilab, Milcu, Brooks, TYR, Gu, Berocca, KGL Marketing Rebisco, and TipidSulit Laundromat.
