KAMPAR: Isaac Tan and Teo Sze Hui were crowned national men's and women's junior champions after emerging as Malaysia's top finishers at the Asia Triathlon Junior Cup at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) here over the weekend.
Given the competitive nature of the event, the Malaysia Triathlon Association concurrently hosted the National Junior Championships and Under-15 National Championships.
Isaac and Sze Hui were Malaysia's main hopefuls in the competition, which featured Asia's best elite junior triathletes aged between 16 and 19.
Isaac finished 19th out of 72 competitors, completing the race, which combined a 750m swim, 20km bike ride and 5km run, with a time of one hour and 55 seconds.
The 19-year-old was crowned the national men's junior champion by virtue of being Malaysia's best finisher.
Hong Kong's Wong Ka Ho was crowned the Asia Triathlon Junior Cup's men's champion, crossing the finish line with a time of 58:48, 13 seconds ahead of his closest rival, Kuanysh Bekenov from Kazakhstan (59:01).
Anson Wong completed a fruitful day for Hong Kong by taking the third spot in 59:15.
In the women's event, Sze Hui achieved a top-10 finish by securing ninth place with 1:11:53.
Philippines champion Kira Ellis was in a class of her own, crossing the finish line over two minutes ahead of her rivals. She clocked 1:05:32 to win the title, followed by South Korea's Park Seoeun (1:07:42) and Uzbekistan's Diana Biktimirova (1:07:45).
Although he felt he could have done better, Isaac was pleased to maintain his status as the country's best triathlete.
"This is my first junior championship title and my third national title overall.
"I became the national champion in Kota Kinabalu last year and Putrajaya this February (held in conjunction with two rounds of the Asia Triathlon Cup)," said Isaac.
"It was not an ideal outing for me as I'm still adjusting to a new training programme. I'm preparing for the Asian Championships in Saudi Arabia this December, and hopefully, my performance will improve in the coming months."
Sze Hui was satisfied to return to winning form after an injury forced her to take a six-month break.
"I'm definitely very happy. This is my first competitive race in six months after a bike accident," she said.
"This result is crucial as I aim to represent the country in the SEA Games next year. I'll try to compete more against the best triathletes. I still need to beat some of the seniors in the country. As this was an age-restricted event, some of them are ineligible."
Ka Ho and Kira both aim to use their triumphs as stepping stones towards their dreams of qualifying for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Ka Ho said: "The competition among the Hong Kong national team members is intense as everyone is chasing the Olympic dream.
"We had representatives qualifying for the second consecutive time in Paris, after Tokyo 2020, so the development of triathlon is now in full swing."
Meanwhile, Ng Han Yang and Emily Chen were crowned national Under-15 champions in the men's and women's categories in the short-distance race, involving a 375m swim, 10km bike ride, and 2.5km run.
Han Yang recorded a time of 35:02 to finish 12th, nearly three minutes behind champion Ramazan Ainegov of Kazakhstan, who clocked 32:06.
Emily finished 10th with a time of 40:55 in the women's competition, which saw Japan's Yukiho Okuma dominating, crossing the finish line in 36:53.
RESULTS
Junior Men
1. Wong Ka Ho (HKG) 58:48,
2. Kuanysh Bekenov (KAZ) 59:01,
3. Anson Wong (HKG) 59:15,
Selected Malaysians: 19. Isaac Tan 1:00:55, 25. Yap Qi Yi 1:01:37, 32.
Nicholas Long 1:03:26.
Junior Women
1. Kira Ellis (PHI) 1:05:32,
2. Park Seo-eun (KOR) 1:07:42,
3. Diana Biktimirova (UZB) 1:07:45,
Selected Malaysians: 9. Teo Sze Hui 1:11:53, 14. Kelly Long 1:14:58, 15. Koh Pao Yee 1:15:12.
U15 Men
1. Ramazan Ainegov (KAZ) 32:06,
2. Artyom Bedrin (KAZ) 32:24,
3. Kang Woo-hyeon (KOR) 32:58,
Selected Malaysians: 12. Ng Han Yang 35:02, 15. Wong Jun You 35:54, 18. Thye Ju Quan 36:37.
U15 Women
1. Yukiho Okuma (JPN) 36:53,
2. Wong Lok Tung (HKG) 37:42,
3. Alexandra Sharayeva (KAZ) 37:47,
Selected Malaysians: 10. Emily Chen 40:55, 11. Shayathiri Ratnam 40:57, 14. Nurfatiha Ritta Kuhlkamp 44:02.
Mixed Junior Relay
1. Team 1 Philippines 1:27:51,
2. Team 2 Hong Kong 1:29:33,
3. Team 1 Uzbekistan 1:32:45,
Selected: 4 Team Malaysia 1:33:39.