WITH THE 28th Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) fast approaching, John Philip Dueñas believes his prized ward Mary Joy Tabal is ready for the biennial event to be held in Singapore next month.
The 25-year-old Tabal is in the latter stages of her training for the 42-kilometer running event of the SEAG under Dueñas’ watch.
The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association allowed Tabal to train with Dueñas instead of sending her to Manila to train with the rest of the Philippine team. Dueñas hopes his training will produce a medal.
“She is in very good condition,” Dueñas said. “I think she is almost ready.”
Dueñas said there’s only a little work left before Tabal gets to be a hundred percent ready for the prestigious games.
“Our target is to make her lose weight,” he said, adding that he is very happy with the dedication Tabal is putting into her training for the SEAG.
“I really hope that she can make it to the top. I hope Cebuanos will support Mary Joy in her biggest race so far. This is her first time so she’s kind of nervous.”
After numerous attempts to join the Philippine team, Tabal finally booked a slot after making an impact in the local running scene in the past couple of years. Part of her feat was winning back-to-back titles in the 42-kilometer event of the prestigious Milo Marathon.
Tabal is currently the fastest runner in the Milo Marathon after she broke the 2002 42k record of Jho-an Banayag (2:48.16) with a time of 2:48.00 last 2013.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
