Fred Viargues (R) marked his sophomore run in the Bintan Triathlon with a resounding win.
The 46-year-old finished the morning race in a blazing time of 1h 7mins 14s. His closest rival, Australian Jonathon Vincent, finished more than three minutes behind.
Viargues last took part in and won the sprint event in 2005, and is looking forward to one day being able to compete in the Olympic distance of the Bintan Triathlon.
The question on most spectators' and competitors' lips then, was why Viargues was not fighting it out in the Olympic distance this year, despite clocking up to 15 triathlons annually.
The answer: Fred Viargues is a steward with Air France, and had to catch an afternoon ferry back to Singapore in order to board his flight back to France on the very same day!
"(The Olympic distance race) is in the afternoon, and we are supposed to leave tonight for Paris!" said the resigned Frenchman.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Laura Walsh (L, with husband Ali and son Dylan) is quite the human dynamo.
After finishing in the Sprint category as the top female with a time of 1h 17min 41s, she appeared fresh as ever going into this interview.
Originally from Canada, the Yoga instructor and part-time student is based in Hong Kong, where she convinced both her insurance broker husband and son to try out the sport.
Having caught the triathlon bug 15 years ago, Walsh, who is in her 40s, fell off the radar after giving birth to her son Dylan. The Bintan Triathlon was her first in five years.
It's also the first one she's competed in with her family involved.
The weekend saw six-year-old Dylan competing in the kids' division, while husband Ali, 41, did the full Olympic distance.
To get themselves in shape, husband and wife swim twice a week up to 2km, do a 30km bike ride once a week, and push themselves to do two runs a week.
Despite looking as competitive as the Olympic distance combatants, Walsh was actually very grateful for the family-friendly nature of the Bintan Triathlon.
"I love this race! I think it's fantastic how they've got programs for the children," she said.
"It's a really nice race compared to some of the others I've done, where they're quite stressful!"
PAIN-LOVING PINOYS
Alberto "Archie" Jose's (right in pic) first taste of extreme racing resulted in him suffering heat stroke.
But that experience at last year's Sabah Adventure race only spurred the Filipino to train for the Bintan triathlon last year.
The Citibank IT country manager's stubborn streak coupled with his desire to overcome his fear of drowning has had him chalking up three triathlons, two biathlons and a duathlon in the past year.
Archie puts in eight hours a week preparing for the next blistering race. A typical training week consists of running 1.5 hours on three nights, a one-hour swim, and clocking up at least 40km on the bike over the weekend.
Having completed the latest Bintan Triathlon with former colleague Raymond Borromeo (left in pic), the two pals will be taking on all 42 km of the Sundown Marathon - this Saturday.
But does the 41-year-old Filipino, who clocked 3h 17min 40s, even consider the possibility that he is pushing himself too hard?
With a smile, he says, "I have a tattoo on my back that says 'Life without risk is death'."
WALK IN THE PARK FOR WILLE
Twenty-five-year-old Wille Loo (2nd from left) may not have had the best preparation in the lead-up to the race, but he still finished as the top Singaporean.
With his employer 'Bike Haus' heavily involved as a sponsor, Loo had work commitments during the trip as well.
Despite this, the University of Melbourne graduate turned in a credible time of 2h 15mins 3s and finished in 7th place overall.
Loo is no stranger to triathlons, having donned national colours once, before he left for his studies down under.
However, he hopes to progress on to longer-distance triathlons like the "Half-ironman", which are not featured in the SEA Games or Olympics.
Being a former school swimmer, water polo player and bike enthusiast, Loo has all but one of his bases covered.
"Running's not really my thing, but I need to improve my run if I want to continue racing," said Loo.
With 6am starts on most days, Loo crams in about nine training sessions in his six-day work week.
Still, despite his toned, muscular frame, Wille claims he is a party animal at heart.
"I eat all the time, I used to club and drink a lot," he confessed.
"But I think the fitter you get, the worse your drinking ability becomes!"
