Merry Joy Trupa and John Chicano became the best performing Filipino athletes in the elite division of the recent Powerman Malaysia 2023 Duathlon race after clinching the gold and silver medals, respectively, held in Putrajaya.

Merry Joy Trupa, center, pose during the awarding ceremony of the Powerman Malaysia Duathlon race. (Photo from Triathlon Association of the Philippines)

Trupa ruled the women’s elite by a hairline by clocking 3 hours, 13 minutes and 34 seconds, beating teammate Rhia Stawicki (3:13:35) by one second. Yon Man Yun crossed the finish line six minutes later to grab the bronze in 3:19:16.

Reigning Southeast Asian Games champion Chicano, for his part, continued his strong showing in international tournaments with a silver-medal finish in the men’s side, timing 2:44:00 to settle behind eventual gold medalist Malo Moysan of France.

Moysan, a French Grand Prix and Spain Open Duathlon titlist, lived up to his billing and timed 2:40:45 for the gold medal.

Moysan and Chicano were head-to-head in the first run leg with the Filipino trailing only by mere seconds before the French duathlete gained a comfortable four-minute lead in the bike leg and never slowed down.

It was a 2-3 finish for Team PH after Maynard Pecson clinched the bronze with 2:49:17.

Meanwhile, other Filipino podium finishers include Jena Valdez, who won the gold in short distance female (15-17), and silver winners Aidanreed Mercado (short male 18-29) and Sophia Capistrano (short female 18-39).

Overall, the PH team went home with two golds, four silvers and one bronze.