Celebs spice up Powerman Asian meet

Local celebrities take time out from their busy schedules to compete on a tougher stage – the Powerman Philippines Asian Championship Presented by Summit Natural Drinking Water, which unwraps Sunday at the Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga.

Gerald Anderson, Jake Cuenca and Kim Chiu have signed up in the individual competition while Aubrey Miles, Troy Montero and coach Al Gonzales will vie in the Classic distance (relay) while Sitti Navarro and husband Joey Ramirez are entered in the Short distance (relay) of the premier runbike-run event organized by F&F International Events Group.

Their presence will not only add glamor and class to the event but also provide the competitive spirit that has marked their stints in a number of endurance events that they had competed in as part of their healthy lifestyle.

They will be among the 1,127 participants set to compete in the event also held to help produce world-class Filipino duathletes.

Meanwhile, Aussies Thomas Bruins and Matt Smith, along with Malaysians Ziq Junaidy and Jason Loh banner the centerpiece Elite division with John Chicano, Joey delos Reyes and Cipriane Topia leading the local challenge.

Chicano, Delos Reyes and Topia placed fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, in last year’s staging of the event, also a qualifier for the next Powerman World Championships.

Japanese Airi Sawada and Alexandra McDougall, also from Australia, loom as the duathletes to beat in the women’s Elite side.

Monica Torres, the country’s leading endurance athlete, has begged off at the last minute due to health reasons.

Events on tap are the premier Powerman Classic (10K run, 60K bike and 10K run), the Powerman Short (5K run, 30K bike, 5K run) and the Powerteens on the wide roads of Clark.