Yuen Verbruggen saved his biggest burst of speed for last, surging past Jerald Federiso in a frenetic closing run to capture the overall Sunrise Sprint crown in the Damosa Land 5150 Triathlon in Davao del Norte.
Verbruggen stayed within striking distance of Federiso through the 750-meter open-water swim and 20-km bike leg before unleashing a powerful finishing kick over the 5-km run to clock 1:11:31.
Federiso had the early advantage, posting faster splits of 13:46 and 33:48 in the first two legs. But Verbruggen proved too quick in the run, where his 20:15 was more than a minute better than Federiso’s 21:18, allowing him to secure the overall victory by 40 seconds.
Federiso settled for second in 1:12:11, while John Carl Lim completed the podium in 1:12:49.
In the women’s division, Alessandra Aquino dominated the field to claim the overall and 18-24 titles in 1:26:01. She posted splits of 14:42 in the swim, 42:18 on the bike and 25:17 in the run, finishing well ahead of Andrea Cui (1:29:38) and Keena Clarke (1:46:58).