KIM Mangrobang, who swept the women’s triathlon and duathlon events in the last Vietnam Southeast Asian Games, will train in the country entirely before she makes her debut in the 11th World Games scheduled July 7 to 17 in Birmingham, Alabama.
“As of now, Kim will be training in the country as we focus on The World Games in July,” said national coach Annie de Leon, who will handle the athlete’s training at the Nuvali estate in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Formerly based in Portugal, Mangrobang said their preparations for the prestigious quadrennial meet organized for non-Olympic sports will be at Nuvali beginning next week after her exhausting stint in the Vietnam SEA Games where she completed a golden double.
“Nag-rerecover pa rin kami kasi dalawang events ‘yung ginawa ko. Ngayon focus muna kami ni coach Annie sa recovery then next week start na yong preparation for The World Games,” said the three-time SEA Games triathlon queen.
Mangrobang qualified for the sportsfest after emerging as the best Asian duathlete, finishing third, in the Asia Duathlon Championships, an open event where non-Asian athletes can join, with a time of two hours, 12 minutes and 29 seconds.
Joining her in Alabama are national teammates Fernando Jose Caseres, the Vietnam SEA Games men’s triathlon champion; and John Chicano, who finished sixth and 12th, respectively, in the men’s division in the Asian meet.
While excited to compete in The World Games, Mangrobang, 30, declined to give any prediction on how she would perform, saying: “As always, I will do my best as what I have always done in all my competitions in the past.
“Hindi masasabi how I will perform since duathlon is different from triathlon,” added the athlete, referring to the event consisting of a 10-kilometer run, followed by a 40-kilometer bike leg before ending with another 10-kilometer run.
She added the outcome would also depend on the racing conditions such as the terrain, which differ from one duathlon to the other.
The duathlon event at The World Games will be held from July 16 to 17 at the Railroad Park located in downtown Birmingham, which the TWG website described as a celebration of “the industrial and artistic heritage of our great city,” and jointly handled by the city government and the Railroad Park Foundation.
De Leon expressed confidence that her ward would do well, saying: “Kim is already quite competitive as shown by her third-place in the Asian meet.”
She said their plan is for Mangrobang to lessen her swimming load in her workouts before leaving for the World Games “without her suffering in her performance in the triathlon since she will have many competitions in her pet event after competing in Alabama.”
