ABAHAN RULES VIETNAM’S SPARTAN CHALLENGE, EYES HIGHEST MOUNTAIN EARLY NOVEMBER

October 29, 2022 Community Billboard

Sandi Menchi Abahan just won her second gold medal within the month in the same Spartan challenge.
The Southeast Asian Games 2019 Obstacle Course Race champion won last Sunday’s 4th Leg of the
Spartan Trail World Championship in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam following up her success in the 50 kilometer
Borneo Trail Classic earlier this month.

Spartan Race Philippines in a post on Facebook congratulated the members of the Philippine contingent of the Spartan Southeast Asian Regional finals in the Vietnamese capital with Abahan ruling the women’s elite category and lead a sweep of the podium for the Philippine squad. Finishing second was Selamie Gutang, while Melissa Campos took the last podium.

Also finishing strong are Marites Nocyao, Babylyn Ngales, Wendel Enerio and Glorien Merisco who were fifth, sixth, ninth and 10th in the same category. Sherwin Managil took seventh place in the men’s elite.
In the age category, Carlos Dimalig and Karen Vibal took the men and women 18-24 years old, Julie Baldevaronia had a silver to show in the women 30- 34, Kitch Gamila a gold in the 35-39 women, Celso Francisco, Jr. a bronze in the men 40-44 and Melody Banhag in the 45- 49 women.

Before the race, Abahan was second in the over-all standing, while Philippine teammates Marites, Gutang,
Campos and Emerio were ranked 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th, in that order. Managil was ranked fourth in the men’s side. Abahan has won also the second leg of the STWC held in Thailand last August. Abahan is also expected to compete in Kathmandu, Nepal on November 8 for the World’s highest obstacle course race
(OCR).

Though she will not scale the whole of the almost 29,000 feet above sea level mountain, literally the top of the world, Abahan will climb up to the base camp at 5,300 meters or 17,598 above sea level which is lower
than the 5,755 meters elevation of the Mount Kilimanjaro climb in Tanzania which she ruled for the second straight year earlier this year.

Pigeon Lobien/ABN