Ferris, Watkinson triumph

Australia’s Josh Ferris and New Zealand’s Amelia Watkinson, winning the IRONMAN 70.3 Lapu-Lapu presented by Megaworld — through overcast skies, rain and sun — was a triumph in itself at Mactan Newtown here Sunday, Aug. 10. But winning it to the deafening cheers of schoolchildren and locals, whose energy pushed them to the limit and carried them to the finish line, was something else.

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“I was screaming along without knowing,” said Ferris, who captured the men’s professional crown in 3:49:10 over the 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21km run, besting New Zealand’s Mike Phillips, who timed 03:52:40.

“My ears were about to burst, they were so loud. All the school kids out there, all the people were cheering, and it was awesome,” he added.

Ferris emerged from the water with a strong swim split of 21:37, maintained his momentum on the bike with a 2:02:15 ride, and held steady in the run, clocking 1:20:32 to seal the victory. His time was just three minutes short of the 3:46:44 record set by Mexican athlete Mauricio Méndez in 2018, also in Lapu-Lapu.