Members of the Ibaloy Ramos family finished strong in their respective races in the United States with couple Jet and Lou Ann leading their three boys in their quest for pride and glory for the country.
Jet, who also served as the team coach, completed the 2022 Ironman Vinfast World Championship in Kona, Hawaii on Oct. 8 against fellow world-class triathletes from around the world.
He swam 3.8 kilometers then biked the 180-km route before he ran another 42-km towards the finish line of one of the toughest races.
The event is termed as the “holy grail” of triathlon with Jet completing the race in 10 hours and 35 minutes.
A few days later, the two older Ramos boys, Josh and Dash, raced the World Triathlon Stockton Cup in Missouri, of which the race serving as an Olympics points qualifying event.
Josh finished the elite sprint distance – 750-meter swim, 20-km bike, and five-km run – in one hour and nine seconds, while the younger Dash finished the course in the age group category in one hour and four minutes and took second overall in the exhibition category.
On Oct. 28, national team coach Lou Ann paved the way for the Ramos family and finished the 2022 Ironman 70.3 world championship in St. George, Utah.
The first day was an all-female race while the men raced the following day with 6,000 athletes having competed in the event.
Lou Ann finished the 1.9-km swim, 90-km bike, and 21-km run in six hours and 31 minutes.
The following day, Jet and Josh toed the line where Josh emerged as the fastest Filipino participant with a time of four hours and 40 minutes while Jet finished the course in four hours and 48 minutes.
Twelve Filipino athletes have qualified for the 2022 Ironman 70.3 World Championships. The Ramos family qualified for the event after dominating the 2022 Ironman Subic last March.
Not to be outdone was their youngest, 13-year-old Arrow, an upcoming junior elite athlete, who raced the Lake Pleasant triathlon on Nov. 6, as he finished first in the 15 to 19 age group.
Arrow will debut in the National Age Group race in January back in the Philippines where it will be a qualifying race for developmental athletes.
“It’s been a series of races on the last quarter of the year. These races will prepare us for the coming year where Josh will try to qualify for the Southeast Asian Games while Dash and Arrow will also be part of the national developmental pool,” Jet said.
The couple, meanwhile, will focus on their triathlon coaching where they coach athletes from all over the country. – Harley F. Palangchao
