Two Philippine Army (PA) athletes brought glory and honor to the country recently after winning in the Altitude Obstacle Course Races (OCR) World Championships on the basecamp of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, in Nepal.
Staff Sgt. Andrico Mahilum ruled the race in the Himalayas after beating professional obstacle athletes from India, Nepal, United Kingdom, Canada, Greece, Australia, South Africa, United States, Poland, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, and Brazil in the men’s category.
Meanwhile, Cpl. Ailene Tolentino finished third place in the women’s category which was dominated by a fellow Filipino, Sandi Abahan from Baguio City.
The Altitude OCR are events held in high-altitude environments. The championship was held from Nov. 8 to 22.
Athletes who competed in the two-week race had to hurdle Mount Everest’s high altitude.
Races achieved a minimum altitude above sea level of 2,438 meters (8,000 ft) and a maximum altitude above sea level of 5,500 meters (18,000 ft), with obstacles included throughout the course.
The event was divided into three phases.
The first phase included a series of trekkings to the Nepali villages and adjacent mountain settlements of Phakding (2,610 meters), Namche Bazar (3,440 meters), Tengboche (2,360 meters), Pheriche (4,371 meters), Lobuche (4,940 meters), Gorakshep (5,130 meters), and Mount Everest Basecamp (5,364 meters). This lasted for 10 days.
During the second phase, participants had to trek from Gorakshep (5,130 meters) to Kala Patthar (5,644 meters) landmark and back.
This included obstacles such as cargo net crawl, balance beam, low wall, sand bag carry, cargo net climb, high wall, monkey bars, hanging traverse, mountain swing, and overcoming "The Wall," which is a five-meter high wall with overhang.
The third and final phase was the decent of the participants from Kala Patthar. Participants had to run a marathon from Gorakshep to Namche Bazar (28.5 miles) as an individual speed race, and descend from Gorakshep to Pheriche, and further down to Namche Bazar and Lukla.
Col. John Oliver Gabun, director of the Army-Installation Command’s Special Service Center, lauded Mahilum and Tolentino for the feat that they have achieved and for introducing to the world the caliber of Philippine Army athletes.
“You overcame challenges, braved the unforgiving weather, and conquered the mountain. Kudos and continue to banner the Army’s brand of excellence in your chosen sport,” Gabun said.
Mahilum and Tolentino received a chanoionship trophy and medal, respectively, during the awarding ceremony on Nov. 21.