TABAL
HER month-long training in Tuscany, Italy will be put to test as Cebuana Olympian Mary Joy Tabal competes in the 21-kilometer race of the Scotia Bank Ottawa Marathon in Canada.
Last year, Tabal competed in the 42k category of the same race and beat the qualifying time that paved the way for her stint in Rio Olympics.
Tabal will be in a different situation today as she is targeting to eclipse her 21-kilometer personal record which she logged in Japan last year.
She finished the 21k race in Japan in one hour, 18 minutes and 44 seconds, shattering her 2015 record of 1:19.32 in a race held in Singapore.
Her mission is to break her existing record and at the same time official Philippine record.
“It was not recognized so hopefully if I break my record in Ottawa Marathon they will finally make it as an official Philippine record,” Tabal told CDN.
“It’s going to be my ultimate goal, beating my record and I will run as fast as I can to make this happen.”
The Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA) is the governing body which recognizes the current record holders in athletics and track and field here in the country.
PATAFA recognizes Mercidita Manipol Fetalvero’s time of 1:18.45 as the official Philippine record for the fastest time in a 21k race.