The Asian Regional Championships are the next big event on the ITU Schedule. Subic Bay, Phillipines is playing host to the Championships and Brian Mahoney, part of ITU’s Live Event Coverage Team, has already posted some incredible photos from the event site on www.triathlon.org.

Event Organizer Tom Carassco has planned a 2 lap open ocean swim, the 3 lap bike course contains a few small hills and the run course is partly sheltered but athletes will still have to contend with the bright morning sun.

The event starts early on Saturday, April 3 - The Elite women take to the ocean at 7:00 am (local time) followed by the Elite men at 8:15 am. The U23 Events are also on Saturday morning; the Junior events take place on Sunday, April 4.

In the women’s event Machiko Nakanishi and Akiko Sekine, both of Japan are the top ranked athletes. Machiko finished 25th in the 2003 World Championships and is currently ranked 25th in the world while run specialist Akiko is currently ranked 37th and had several strong World Cup finished in 2003.

In the men’s event; the team from Kazakhstan is strong - led by former World Champion and top 10 ranked athlete - Dmitry Gaag. Danill Sapunov (KAZ) and Daniel Lee Chi Wo (HKG) are other strong contenders for the podium.

An Olympic spot is also up for grabs this weekend.