20th Mt Kinabalu Int. Climbathon

Ricardo Saved From Blushes To Retain King Of Mountain Title

KUNDASANG, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- Defending champion Ricardo Mejia of Mexico, who was on the verge of being dislodged by Malaysia's Mius Balinting, made a strong comeback 500m from the finishing line to retain the men's open title at the 20th edition of the TM Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon at Kinabalu Park, here Sunday.

With a partisan local crowd of more than 200 people cheering for Mius, the 43-year-old Mexican produced a decisive dash to frustrate the awaited victory party for the Malaysian.

Mejia completed the neck-and-neck race in 2 hours 50 minutes and 52 seconds, a far cry from his last year's record of 2:41.05s.

The spirited Mius recorded 2: 51.44s while his teammate, Safrey Sumping, a guide with Kinabalu Park, came in third with 2:53.22s.

"I'm too happy...it's a hard victory for me. Running towards the summit was not a problem but running downhill was challenging because of the rain...the track was wet and slippery too.

"I thought I was going to lose when Mius overtook me about two kilometres from the finishing line but I told myself to push and I was lucky to win at last," Mejia said after the race.

The 37-year old Mius, who hails from Kampung Waang, Ranau, said he tried with all his might and energy to secure victory for Malaysia but "Ricardo is simply too good for me".

"That's the best I could do for the country...I tried to push but my legs were tired and heavy. I just could not produce the necessary speed I wanted and I was sad seeing Ricardo slip away but there was nothing much I could do," said the farmer, who trained hard for a month before the gruelling race.

The 23-year-old Safrey said he was more than happy to finish third, and the Kundasang lad hoped to do better next year.

For His efforts, Mejia pocketed US$4,500 while Mius and Safrey collected US$4,000 and US$3,500 respectively.

With the victory, Mejia also won this year's Buff-Skyrunner World Series FSA 2006 with the final series being the Mt Kinabalu Climbathon with accumulated points of 400.

There are eight races in the 2006 Buff-Skyrunner World Series -- Hidalgo, Mexico, Zegama-Aizkorri, Spain, Valmalenco-Valposchiavo, Switzerland, OSJ Ontake SkyRace, Japan, Dolomites SkyRace, Italy, SkyRace Andorra, Andorra, Sentiero delle Grigne, Italy and Mt. Kinabalu Climbathon, Malaysia.

Taking place in Malaysia's first World Heritage Site, the Mount Kinabalu (4095.2m) International Climbathon is rated the world's toughest mountain race involving a distance of 21km.

-- BERNAMA