Ironman survivor

Dabawenyo Savellano marks milestone in Taiwan

TRIATHLON Association of the Philippines (TRAP) representative for Mindanao Eustaqio "Stax" Savellano survived the Full Ironman Taiwan last October 2 in Penghu, Taiwan.

The 49-year-old triathlete from Davao City finished the 3.8-kilometer swim, 180-kilometer bike and 42.2-kilometer run course from Shilih Beach to Penghu stadium at 15 hours, 18 minutes and 25 seconds barely 15 days apart from finishing the Tabuelan 226 full Ironman Triathlon.

Savellano placed 57th out of 78 participants in his age-group and placed 328th out of 537 overall.

"The struggle is real at 10:30 a.m. when humidity started to hit 90 percent and was at its highest at 95 percent an hour later. The bike leg became a survival of the fittest when some racers started to call for marshalls to quit the race," said Savellano who made two full Ironman races in a month.

In 2016, Savellano was sidelined for three months after breaking his wrist from a bike accident, 16 days before his Taiwan stint.

He encountered too many hindrances early on and thought of just quitting his full Ironman dream. "When you have invested time and emotion into creating the perfect plan, something has to come along and muck it all up again," Savellano added, after failing to join two full Ironman races in recent years.

The challenges, however, made Savellano savor the glory of his feat.