"on a shoestring"

Wounded but Still Fighting

Even with bleeding legs and arms, young triathletes (ages 15 and below) from Zambales, Laguna and Manila finished the race at the recently concluded Batang Pinoy Triathlon Game.

Six out of 12 triathletes had an accident because of the slippery bike route. But this didn’t stop anyone in completing the course which includes 200m swim – 5k bike – 1.2k run.

Look at the wounded knees of the kids- badges of honor

After 19:04 (4:01 – 10:53 – 4:10), Gabriel Allen Salazar won the boys event while  Jessica Salazar topped the girls with a total time of 22:24 (4:06 – 12:46 – 5:31).

Jessica Salazar, 13 year old from UPHS-Binan, Laguna

Backtrack: Accidents Make You Stronger

Seems like accidents make these athletes stronger! It was during the UPLB- Speedo NAGT 2009 that I first saw Allen Santiago (13 years old that time), he is competing against older and more mature triathletes (ages 19 and up). Running for the 2nd place but finished as 4th over-all because of a bike accident. His father, Roy, told me that his son wants to finished the race even with bruised arms and sides. That was a learning lesson for him.

He learned his lesson well and was careful enough in this tournament where he finished without a bruised and brought home the gold medal.

Focused and Passionate Allen Santiago

Allen also shared to me his weekly schedule that would give us a lesson on how to balance school and sports. By 4:30am he is up for some dry land training like sit-ups, leg-ups, push-ups. He then goes to school- Letran Highschol in Manila fro his studies. After school, you could find him at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex either running or swimming for about 1.5 hours. On weekends he does his bike ride with the same amount of time.

Gabriel Allen Santiago, 15 years old from Letran Manila

You could sense his focus and passion in the sports of triathlon. When asked if he doesn’t get tired of balancing his studies and sports, he said, “Gusto ko po yung ginagawa ko,” and “mas nadadagdagan po yung mga achievements ko para po makasali ako sa Youth Olympics.“

He was happy for the victory and shares to me his dream of not only joining the Olympics someday but to be a podium finisher. He quips, “Next year po mas-intense na yung training ko.“ His father is always in full support of his child’s dreams, he is always with his kid Allen during training. Parental support really does wonders!

I’m really excited to see this young kid rise to the challenge. I can see his potential of qualifying in the Summer Olympics, only time will tell. Glad that there’s a program like Batang Pinoy where he can show his talent and test his training.

Triathlon Results are as follows:

Individual (December 10)

Boys

Girls

Triathlon Mixed Relay (December 11)

Champion: Laguna Team- Jessica Salazar, Gene Elbert Paguia, Maria Garcia & Isaiah Miguel Dizon

1st runner up: Zambales Team- Victoria Evania Lucille Deldio, Jose Nobles IV, Anne Denisse Deldio & Jemuel Niko Patilan.

More photos can be viewed on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/journeyingjamesFB. Tag yourself and your friends!

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Batang Pinoy Games 2011  is a grass-roots development program organized by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to identify young talents to be trained for the national pool of athletes.

“Our goal is to use the event to identify talents for the World Youth Olympics in 2014. This would also give the out-of-school youths the avenue to display their talents in a nationwide tournament.”– Commissioner Joaquin “Chito” Loyzaga

Batang Pinoy seeks to instill the values of discipline, teamwork, camaraderie, unity, solidarity, competitiveness and fair play through a comprehensive sports development program for in-school and out-of-school children 15 years old and below.

Official website: Batang Pinoy 2011

Facebook Page: Batang Pinoy (PSC Grassroots Program)