By Alona Cochon
HONG KONG – Filipino trail runner John Ray “Stingray” Onifa made history by becoming the first two-time champion of the Asia Trail Master (ATM) series after ruling the men’s Season 10 Championship Final of the 9 Dragons Ultra in Hong Kong, China on Feb. 28-March 1.
Onifa hurdled 9 Dragons’ most challenging 72-kilometer trail running with 3,800 meters of elevation gain in eight hours, six minutes, and 38 seconds, cementing his status as one of Asia’s elite male trail athletes.
He bested Lodewijk Virens of Hong Kong and Hiroki Kai of Japan, who finished second and third, respectively. He won his first ATM series title in 2023.
“Salamat sa mga sumuporta. We started at 1 a.m., slippery ang course kasi umulan (Thanks to those who supported us. We started at 1 a.m., the course was slippery because it was raining),” Onifa said.
Onifa’s victory comes after a successful 2025 campaign, including a win at the 9 Dragons 50/50 race in Hong Kong in February, proving his strength in multi-day ultra formats.
In March last year, the native of Antique also successfully defended his title at the Vietnam Ultra Marathon (VUM) 75km race in Mai Chau, marking his 15th Asia Trail Master race victory and earning a wild card entry to the championship final.
In October 2024, he led the Philippine team to a strong second-place overall finish at the Asia Pacific Trail Running Championships in Ulju, South Korea, where he secured gold in the men’s 40-kilometer short trail event with a time of 3:47:00, playing a pivotal role in the team’s podium finish.
He also made history in 2022 as the first Filipino to compete in the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, blazing a trail for future Filipino mountain runners.
Other Filipino standouts at the 9 Dragons ATM included Joebert Elmaguin, who emerged champion in the Ultra 50 Miles category with a time of 10:26:47, and Arns Acarenas, who secured second place in the Ultra 72km event.
Priya Rai of Nepal clinched the women’s category title.
Team Japan won the ATM Team Championship, taking over the title from Nepal. Their best three male and female finishers required less time to cover the distance than the closest rival teams from Hong Kong and the Philippines. (Alona Cochon/PNA)
