Lanao del Norte’s Satar Salem hopes to follow up his stirring win the last time when the Sun Life 5150 Triathlon is held Sunday at the Bellevue Resort on Panglao Island.
And like last year which marked the return of the sport in full blast after the pandemic, the TRI SND Barracuda team spearhead braces for another feisty battle as he goes for back-to-back title bid in the 1.5 km-swim, 40 km-bike and 10 km run distance event.
Though he failed to turn in a podium finish due to a minor lapse in the bike stage in the Alveo IRONMAN 70.3 in Davao City last March, Salem helped steer TRI SND Barracuda to the team championship that netted them the Tribu Maisugon title.
But the 27-year-old campaigner is all primed for a repeat in the blue-ribbon race set over an Olympic-style setup and put up by Sun Life Philippines in its continuing effort to help promote an active, healthy lifestyle among Filipinos.
Backers of the event are Sun Life, Go For Gold, The Bellevue Resorts, Province of Bohol, Municipality of Dauis, Municipality of Panglao, Sandugo 2023, Rudy Project, Sante, Active, Manila Bulletin and Tempo.
The Bohol event also serves as the first of three 5150 races for the next three months organized by The IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events, Inc. The sport will make a homecoming of sorts in the Bicol region after 12 years for the CamSur 5150 on Aug. 6 while Dapitan City is pulling out all the stops to guarantee a successful hosting of a first-ever 5150 in Zamboanga del Norte on Sept. 10.
For the second straight year, the Bohol 5150 is staged as part of the Sandugo Festival celebrations, a project of the Province of Bohol under Gov. Aris Aumentado.
Fierce duels are also seen in various age-group categories, from 15-19 to 65-69, both in the men’s and women’s sides.
