MANILA, Philippines – Sam Betten dominated the men's side for the second straight time, but Amelia Watkinson foiled Dimitry Lee Duke's title-retention bid as they shared top honors in the centerpiece event of the Bellevue Resort 5i50 Triathlon at the Bellevue Resort in Panglao Island, Bohol on Sunday.

Betten seized control early in the 1.5-km swim stage, stamped his class in the 40-km bike leg, then cruised in the 10-km run event to clinch the gold medal in 2:01:40, with leg clockings of 21:18, 56:40, and 39:47, respectively.

It was the Aussie triathlete's fourth straight 5i50 victory in the country, and he pocketed another $2,000 in the process.

Henry Beck placed second with a time of 2:10:07, while Philippine-based Daniel Brown struggled to finish in 2:29:37.

Watkinson, the winner of the ITU Long Course Triathlon in China and the Challenge Iskandar Puteri earlier this year, emerged with the best time in the swim leg (23:35), then sustained her pace in the next two stages to clinch the women's gold in 2:10:19.

It was a frustrating competition for Duke, who turned in a time of 25:30 in the opening stage and never caught up, settling for runner-up honors in 2:15:10.

Michelle Duffield clocked 2:32:22, while Rebecca Ohlwein placed fourth with a time of 3:19:28.

Sharing the spotlight were Jenny Rose Guerrero and Jorry Ycong, who topped the elite division of the event.

Guerrero led from start to finish and timed 2:38:57 to beat Cianyl Gonzales, who had a 2:51:20 clocking, while Amale Jopson and Aimee Dequia took the next two spots in 3:00:42 and 3:13:18, respectively, in the women's side.

Ycong, on the other hand, rallied in the run stage, clocking 39:13 for a 2:10:55 total as he turned back Paul Jumamil, who led in the swim and bike stages only to falter in the final leg with 41:05 and wound up with 2:11:44.

Emmanuel Comendador took the bronze in 2:11:56.

Close to 600 triathletes took part in the event, which also featured the Sunrise Sprint.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)