Subic Bay pulled
off hosting three major
triathlon events over the
weekend amidst the most
challenging weather conditions with rainbow colors, which only a well-calibrated and spirited host
city can perform.
Hosting the
IRONKIDS, Century Tuna
IRONMAN Philippines
and the IRONMAN 70.3
on June 10 and 11 respectively, the weekend
races attracted over 1,000
athletes from 42 countries
which included Japan,
Australia, Belarus, USA,
Germany, Israel, South
Africa, Singapore, Uzbekistan and Sweden, among
others.
Princess Galura with the
rest of the IRONMAN
team.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman, Jonathan Tan, in his
first encounter with the
iconic IRONMAN event
since his appointment
as head of this tourist
and economic zone, expressed much awe at the
organization, magnitude
and prestige of the IRONMAN event.
“One of our
claims to fame is being the
‘Triathlon Capital of the
Philippines’ and we take
pride in being a witness
to the accomplishments
of the Filipino IRONMAN.
We are inspired by the
athletes and organizers
with this passion to bring
out the best in themselves
and the events, and we
continue to promote Subic
Bay as a nirvana for sports
tourism because of that,”
said Tan.
Speaking on behalf of Chairman Tan at
the IRONMAN media conference, SBMA director,
Atty Chito Lahom, pledged
continuing support of
SBMA for the IRONMAN
triathlon which first raced
off in Subic in 2018.
Staff and volunteers of SBMA, Olongapo
City and Province of Zambales, by the hundreds,
were all in one in providing top-notch cooperation
and services, on and off
track, to ensure the hosting of the 2023 editions
of IRONMAN races was a
success.
And, indeed,
it was. Princess Galura
the Regional Director of
the IRONMAN Group expressed great delight at
SBMA’s performance as a
host city. “Time and time.
again, Subic has proven
itself to be an excellent
event host,” said Galura.
Subic Bay, has
throughout the years,
played host to local in international sporting events
such as Beach Pro Tour
Future Volleyball, President’s Cup REGATTA and
various sailing and international regattas, marathons, and recent Southeast Asian Games events.
Subic Bay was
named the Sports Tourism
Destination of the Year in
the 2017 Philippine Sports
Tourism Awards.
Hotel Reps waiting for the
hotel transfers.
Sporting events,
after the pandemic in
2022, have spurred Subic
Bay back on track as one
of the top tourist destinations in the country and
the IRONMAN weekend
in June has boosted local
economy tremendously.
Sharing his joy,
SBMA director in charge
of tourism, Raul Marcelo
expressed his gratitude
on behalf of the hospitality stakeholders – “Thank
you very much for filling
up all the hotel rooms,” he
grinned. END
