Olmilla shifts focus to duathlon

Cebuano athlete Joland Olmilla will pour in much of his focus in duathlon for 2019 to make more impact as a member of the duathlon national team.

The Mandaue City-native Olmilla will start his mission with a return in the Pilipinas Duathlon Series 2019.

The first leg of the three-leg series is set on Feb. 17 in Mimosa Clark, Pampanga.

“I will be more focused on duathlon for 2019; triathlon will only be secondary for me. If there’s no duathlon competition, that’s the time I will compete in triathlon,” Olmilla told SunStar Cebu in Cebuano.

Olmilla will try to make his impact in the Pilipinas Duathlon Series 2019 that will kick off with a 4-kilometer run 1, 20K bike and 4K run 2 for the first leg.

The second leg is set on April 14 at the Eagle Ridge in Cavite City followed by the final leg on July 21 at the Villages Clark in Pampanga.

“I was not able to compete in Pilipinas Duathlon in 2018, so I have no ranking coming in for next year,” said Olmilla, who was part of the Top 10 duathletes in 2017.

Next year will be a crucial one for Olmilla as he aspires to take his chance in landing a spot on the country’s roster for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in December.

“It will be difficult to get that goal. But making it to the lineup is one of my dreams,” he said.

The Philippines is the host of the biennial meet. /