Leunberger in decent Asian Cup 2017 debut
DAVAO City's Eduard "Mo" Leuenberger put up a good finish in his Mt. Mayon ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup 2017 debut held Sunday at the Legazpi Boulevard, Legazpi City in Albay Province.
Newbie Leueberger, who only turned 16 last May, placed 15th by clocking a total of one hour, 11 minutes and 48 seconds in the race that pitted him against 18 and 19 years old entries.
Hong Kong's Tsz To Wong emerged champion with a time of 1:01:13 while Chinese Taipei bet Chia Hao Chang (1:01:14) was runner-up and Juan Carlos Abad of the Philippines (1:02:28) placed third.
Leuenberger's father Ed, in a Facebook chat with Sun.Star Davao yesterday, said the Dabawenyo was eighth among 12 Filipinos entered in the race.
"Usually the new juniors are adjusting pa sa new distance nila na almost double ng kids 13-15 years old. From super sprint distance of 400-meter swim, 12-kilometer bike and 2.4km-run, Leuenberge competed in the junior elite sprint that covered 750m swim, 20km bilke and five km run.
Ed said that his son had a hard time with the swim due to the "choppy seas", adding that he had to bike alone since his teamates were ahead of him and another group was behind him.
The elder Leuenberger explained, "Disadvantage sa bike if you are alone kasi you have to do extra work unlike in the pack that drafting is allowed. But despite the extra work on the bike, Mo managed to have the fastest run split among the 16 and 17 years old members of the national team.
"Nasiko sya ng Hong kong athlete sa mata pag-sart ng swim and the choppy waves made sighting very hard. He felt better daw on the bike portion with a better training program in the last three months coming from the Subic Development Camp of the Philippine Team last summer and the Davao Camp organized by TRAP and Team Davao," Ed said.
Leuenberger has resumed training with his swimming coach in preparation for the Kadayawan triathlon on August 27. MLSA