By Elvin Liang
Dex Cheong (#15), the eventual champion of the Standard Male Category (18-29 Years), patiently waiting for the flagoff. (Photo 1 © Elvin Liang/Red Sports)
East Coast Park, Saturday, October 26, 2013 – Dex Cheong finished as the fastest Singaporean athlete when he won the the Standard Male Category (18-29 years) in a time of 2 hours 1 minute 37 seconds at the 2013 Singapore Duathlon. The event saw athletes run a first leg of 10km, followed by a 36km bike leg, and then a final run of 5km.
“The race was good. It was not too warm as I was in the second wave, so it was still cool during the morning run and cycle,” remarked Dex who will be participating in the coming Nusajaya International Triathlon this weekend. “I’ll be getting lots of rest. As you know, duathlons are quite heavy on the lower limbs.”
It was a close fight for second place between Indonesian Oscar Feryanto and Singaporean Brandon Tung who were neck-and-neck in the last 5km of the running leg. Brandon kept up with Oscar’s pace but could not prevent Oscar from taking home the silver with a time of 2:06:35. Brandon settled for bronze with a 2:06:59. Brandon is currently studying in the Singapore Management University (SMU) and is a representative of the SMU Aquathlon team.
In the Standard Female category (18-29 years), Singaporean Sarah Ng braved the morning heat to bag the gold with a time of 2:30:47. The National University of Singapore (NUS) law student led unchallenged from start to finish. Following up in second place was Juncal Hernan with a time of 2:34:08 and joining her on the podium in third was Stephanie Williams with a time of 2:41:20.
Singaporean Ong Kaifen finished a comfortable first in the Standard Female Category (30-39 years) in a time of 2:24:28. It was quite a wait before Joanna Morris finished to take home the silver with a time of 2:40:53. Trying her best to catch up in the last 5km run was Desiree Koh who finished third with a time of 2:41:22.
The fastest man at the event was veteran triathlete James Middleditch who topped the chart in the Standard Male category (40-49 years) with a time of 1:52:55. He was recently third overall in the MetaSprint Triathlon. Coming in second was Swiss Pascal Aeschlimann with a time of 2:01:21. It was a heart-stopping moment for the 3rd place between Aussie Bevan Colless and Dane Jesper Ahlstrom who were seen making a final dash to the finish line. Fortunately for Bevan, stopping the clock in 02:03:08, he crossed the finish line just 5 seconds ahead of Jesper which earned him the bronze.
Veteran Wendy Wilcox snagged first place in the Standard Female category (50+ years) with a time of 2:28:53 despite nursing a lower limb injury. Wendy was lagging in the first 10km run leg due to some discomfort from her injury. However, she turned the tables in the cycling leg where she overtook fellow Brit, Alison Carpenter, who finished second with a time of 2:31:41. Diana Fox was third with a time of 3:17:35.
“I am still recovering from my injury! So I kind of knew that the run would be tougher than usual. But I was fine with it, because I know that I am stronger in the bike leg. I am actually stronger at cycling so I was confident!” exclaimed a chirpy Wilcox.
Wendy, who currently resides in Singapore, and constantly shuttles between the UK and Singapore for trainings as well as competitions, enjoys training in the harsher weather conditions here. “It’s definitely much hotter here. But when I’m back in Oxford, I’d usually train on the hills and slopes. I absolutely love the cool temperature back home.” Wendy recently clinched the gold in the Tri-Factor Triathlon held in August earlier this year.
In the Sprint Male category (20-39 years), which consisted of a 5km run, 28km bike and 2.5km run, Singaporean Nicholas Lee topped the category with a time of 1:05:52. Pacing him closely was Donald Bain who pushed hard in the last 2.5km run leg to earn himself second position in a time of 1:06:40.
It was a tough stretch for Li Jing Jie especially with the increasingly warm weather. Jing Jie was seen trying to catch up with Donald in the last leg but lost some steam along the way, settling for third with a commendable timing of 1:07:10.
“The weather started to become warmer towards the last 2.5km stretch,” commented 22-year-old Nicholas Lee who is currently in his second year of studies in NUS and served his National Service as a commando. “I train almost on a daily basis so I’m used to these conditions. My training comprises of both strength and plyometrics exercises.” Lee only began training and participating in triathlons, duathlons and biathlons two years back when he enrolled in NUS and receives coaching from both NUS aquathlon coach, David Tay as well as Fabian Williams Coaching Concepts.
Germans Melanie Keppler and Petra Diener came in first and second with a time of 1:17:38 and 1:20:05 respectively in the Sprint Women category (20-39 years). Diener had to fight off the challenge of Singaporean Adeline Leow who kept the pressure on her, and stayed shoulder-to-shoulder with her in every leg of the race. However, Adeline could not keep it up in the final leg and finished third in a time of 1:20:22.
Our young Singaporeans fared well in both the junior (16-19 years) categories with Benedict Lee and Denise Chia clinching first place in the male and female categories respectively. Lee finished strongly with a time of 1:06:57, a stark improvement from his timing of 1:14:23 which earned him third place last year. Denise too, finished well clear of the competition with a time of 1:14:25. Denise was recently second at this year’s Tri-Factor Triathlon and third in the Singapore International Triathlon.
Elite Male Category
1st Caleb Mcinnes (#9) – 01:54:56
Run – 00:35:13; Bike – 00:59:09; Run – 00:18:54
2nd Dave Lommen (#15) – 02:04:09
Run – 00:37:20; Bike – 01:00:45; Run – 00:23:47
3rd Andreco Primero (#8) – 02:09:15
Run – 00:40:22; Bike – 01:03:11; Run – 00:23:36
Elite Female Category
1st Vanessa Colless (#2) – 02:06:08
Run – 00:38:33; Bike – 01:05:32; Run – 00:20:00
Standard Male Category (10km Run + 36km Bike + 5km Run)
18-29 Years
1st Dex Cheong (#95) – 02:01:37
Run – 00:38:10; Bike – 01:01:39; Run – 00:19:49
2nd Oscar Feryanto (#123) – 02:06:35
Run – 00:41:42; Bike – 01:00:35; Run – 00:22:22
3rd Bi’ao Brandon Tung (#86) – 02:06:59
Run – 00:40:19; Bike – 01:02:29; Run – 00:22:02
30-39 Years
1st Clifford Scott (#182) – 01:58:17
Run – 00:36:32; Bike – 00:59:16; Run – 00:20:24
2nd Hannes Frieder Ruoff (#197) – 01:59:01
Run – 00:36:09; Bike – 01:01:02; Run – 00:20:08
3rd Osmo Liimatainen (#262) – 01:59:17
Run – 00:38:26; Bike – 00:58:12; Run – 00:20:28
40-49 Years
1st James Middleditch (#387) – 01:52:55
Run – 00:35:08; Bike – 00:56:18; Run – 00:19:16
2nd Pascal Aeschlimann (#438) – 02:01:21
Run – 00:39:00; Bike – 00:59:44; Run – 00:20:42
3rd Bevan Colless (#348) – 02:03:08
Run – 00:41:53; Bike – 00:56:36; Run – 00:22:08
50+ Years
1st Jeremy Snoad (#500) – 02:05:30
Run – 00:42:41; Bike – 00:59:53; Run – 00:20:51
2nd Jonathan Earnshaw (#502) – 02:14:10
Run – 00:42:40; Bike – 01:07:53; Run – 00:21:09
3rd Iain Maidment (#499) – 02:25:58
Run – 00:47:23; Bike – 01:11:00; Run – 00:25:23
Standard Female Category (10km Run + 36km Bike + 5km Run)
18-29 Years
1st Sara Ng (#37) – 02:30:47
Run – 00:47:43; Bike – 01:12:27; Run – 00:28:31
2nd Juncal Hernan (#32) – 02:34:08
Run – 00:49:17; Bike – 01:14:33; Run – 00:27:25
3rd Stephanie Williams (#39) – 02:41:20
Run – 00:51:25; Bike – 01:19:18; Run – 00:27:48
30-39 Years
1st Kaifen Ong (#56) – 02:24:28
Run – 00:44:12; Bike – 01:15:46; Run – 00:22:08
2nd Joanna Morris (#51) – 02:40:53
Run – 00:54:17; Bike – 01:14:56; Run – 00:28:40
3rd Desiree Koh (#48) – 02:41:22
Run – 00:48:57; Bike – 01:19:30; Run – 00:25:41
40-49 Years
1st Michelle Moore (#74) – 02:30:25
Run – 00:46:27; Bike – 01:12:18; Run – 00:27:43
2nd Megan Kinder (#73) – 02:34:05
Run – 00:50:49; Bike – 01:12:14; Run – 00:28:05
3rd Siew Hua Thio (#75) – 02:42:11
Run – 00:50:47; Bike – 01:17:25; Run – 00:30:19
50+ Years
1st Wendy Wilcox (#84) – 02:28:53
Run – 00:50:33; Bike – 01:07:49; Run – 00:27:26
2nd Alison Carpenter (#78) – 02:31:41
Run – 00:45:00; Bike – 01:16:55; Run – 00:25:15
3rd Diana Fox (#81) – 03:17:45
Run – 01:00:20; Bike – 01:37:28; Run – 00:34:28
Sprint Male Category (5km Run + 28km Bike + 2.5km Run)
Junior
1st Shern Mun Benedict Joseph Lee (#587) – 01:06:57
Run – 00:22:25; Bike – 00:29:38; Run – 00:12:44
2nd Chuah Jun Ler (#570) – 01:11:50
Run – 00:23:09; Bike – 00:31:59; Run – 00:14:00
3rd Mun Ho Loy (#583) – 01:11:50
Run – 00:23:07; Bike – 00:33:02; Run – 00:13:03
20-39 Years
1st Nicholas Lee (#819) – 01:05:52
Run – 00:20:47; Bike – 00:31:29; Run – 00:11:24
2nd Donald Bain (#738) – 01:06:40
Run – 00:21:05; Bike – 00:31:43; Run – 00:11:58
3rd Jing Jie Li (#773) – 01:07:10
Run – 00:20:34; Bike – 00:33:03; Run – 00:11:12
40+ Years
1st Alexander Kolb (#889) – 01:11:51
Run – 00:24:14; Bike – 00:31:21; Run – 00:13:58
2nd Emanuele Arnarldo Baroni (#924) – 01:13:14
Run – 00:24:25; Bike – 00:32:01; Run – 00:13:48
3rd Byron Rienstra (#898) – 01:14:20
Run – 00:24:46; Bike – 00:32:20; Run – 00:14:10
Sprint Female Category (5km Run + 28km Bike + 2.5km Run)
Junior
1st Su Yin Denise Chia (#560) – 01:14:25
Run – 00:24:07; Bike – 00:35:02; Run – 00:13:32
2nd Thaddea Chua (#563) – 01:18:26
Run – 00:24:28; Bike – 00:37:04; Run – 00:15:01
3rd Katherine Bancroft (#558) – 01:18:37
Run – 00:24:46; Bike – 00:38:21; Run – 00:13:39
20-39 Years
1st Melanie Keppler (#633) – 01:17:38
Run – 00:24:34; Bike – 00:36:11; Run – 00:14:26
2nd Petra Diener (#645) – 01:20:05
Run – 00:25:31; Bike – 00:38:10; Run – 00:14:10
3rd Adeline Leow (#590) – 01:20:22
Run – 00:25:10; Bike – 00:38:14; Run – 00:14:21
40+ Years
1st Kathryn Campbell (#685) – 01:17:06
Run – 00:25:20; Bike – 00:33:53; Run – 00:14:11
2nd Ruth Stubbs (#985) – 01:21:10
Run – 00:27:19; Bike – 00:34:50; Run – 00:16:06
3rd Ling Ling Koh (#689) – 01:24:08
Run – 00:27:14; Bike – 00:37:35; Run – 00:15:21
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