Lapu-Lapu holds 8th Olango Challenge
By ISTE S. LEOPOLDO
THE eighth edition of the Olango Challenge will be on May 23 at 10 a.m. at the Pacific Cebu Resort in Lapu-Lapu City. The event features the competitive men’s and women’s 6K and 2K divisions, and the 6K and 2K fun category.
The first open water swimming competition in the Philippines hopes to raise funds to put up classrooms in Olango Island and to promote open water swimming as a sport.
“We are doing this to raise awareness because of the magnitude of drowning cases in the country,” Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) Jose Antonio Aboitiz said during a press conference last week at the Pacific Cebu Resort together with the director of sales Mychelle Teo and Philippine Swimming, Inc.’s Mark Joseph.
This year’s edition, which is endorsed by the Department of Tourism, eyes to get enough funds from the sponsorships to support the event’s cause. Swimmers will vie for the top spot in a race course that has six turning points. Both competitive and fun swimmers can choose from the two categories. Only the fun swim has a mixed category.
Over the years, they have raised more than P5 million and this was used to build eight classrooms on Olango Island.
Aboitiz said participants must be at least 14 years old and those who do not belong to any swimming club must show a medical certificate to ensure that they are physically fit to join the swim.