By MARK REY MONTEJO
Sandi Abahan impressed the field after clinching the bronze medal in the 2025 Morzine Spartan Ultra World Championship & Trifecta Weekend held in France on Friday, July 4.
The Baguio City native finished the grueling 50-kilometer women’s elite race, which featured 60 obstacle course challenges, in 8 hours, 44 minutes, and 22 seconds.
Abahan originally clocked 10 minutes faster, but received a time penalty for failing to clear some of the obstacles.
Hometown favorite Leslie Lejeune topped the race with a time of 8:02:15, while British athlete Andrea Berquez claimed the silver medal at 8:19:45.
A seasoned competitor, Abahan previously won gold in the women’s 5-kilometer obstacle course race at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and was part of the women’s relay team that took gold at the 2023 SEAG.
Meanwhile, her teammate Andrico Mahilum placed 33rd out of 68 participants in the men’s elite category, finishing with a time of 10:23:53.
Italian Luca Pescollderungg dominated the men’s race with a time of 6:25:18, followed by Canadian Ryan Atkin (6:29:03) and Swiss runner Antoine Freymond (6:35:48) who took silver and bronze, respectively.
Thumbie Remigio also completed the race, clocking in at 10:55:42.
