THE quest for a stint in Rio Olympics continued for the country’s marathon queen Mary Joy Tabal, who left for Japan yesterday to resume her training.
Tabal will train at the Nippon Sports Science University in Yokohama and will leave for Canada on May 26 where she will compete in a footrace on May 29.
The competition in Canada dubbed as Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon will serve as a qualifying race for the Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
It will be Tabal’s second crack at earning a shot at Rio Olympics after she fell short in the Boston Marathon last month.
Tabal’s main corporate backer Motorace Philippines worked on her trip to Japan shortly after she got her visa for her trip to Canada.
“I am very happy right now because of the opportunities the team has given me. I want to focus and concentrate in this training and, hopefully, lessen the pressure that I feel. I only got two weeks to train and condition my body before I head off to Canada,” said Tabal.
In her Boston Marathon stint, Tabal timed in at two hours, 49 minutes and one second, good for 21st place but failed to make the qualifying time of two hours and 45 minutes.
“I just want to nail this (Olympic ticket). It has been my dream to reach the Olympics and this (Canada event) is probably my last shot at Rio, so I need to do this,” said Tabal.
Tabal added that her Japan training will help her get acclimatized to the weather in Canada.
The 26-year-old Cebuana marathoner also trained for almost a month Japan before competing in the Boston Marathon.
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