New course set for Olango Challenge

New course set for Olango Challenge
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 03/24/201


THE PHILIPPINE Business for Social Progress (PBSP) promises a more challenging open-water marathon swimming competition in the 3rd Olango Challenge set April 24.

Jose Antonio Aboitiz, PBSP Visayas chairman, said when they first organized the competition alongside the Philippine Aquatic Sports Association (PASA), they promised to hold it differently every year.

For this year's undertaking, participants will be swimming in a rectangular-shaped route, which will start and end at the Tambuli Beach Club.

The first challenge in 2008 was a cross-channel swim from the Santa Rosa pier to Shangri-La's Mactan Resort and Spa Cebu. Last year's Olango Challenge had a route that followed the coast from the Pacific Cebu Resort to Tambuli.

Aside from the new race route, organizers have also added two new categories to the 5k competitive and 5k fun swim. These are the 2.5k competitive and the 1.5k competitive.

Aboitiz said they decided to add more categories to attract more participants such as the triathletes.

Each category will have male and female divisions except for the fun category, which will be open to all.

The Olango Challenge, which is for the benefit of the Olango Island, was the first open-water marathon swimming competition held in the country.

It is also one of the qualifyings for the Asian Open Water World Cup in Hong Kong in November and the 2nd Asian Beach Games in Muscat, Oman in December./CORRESPONDENT MARS G. ALISON