Cebuana Olympic Hopeful To Train In Japan For Two Months

Cebuana Olympic hopeful Mary Joy Tabal will train in Japan for two months in a bid to prove her doubters wrong as she chases a spot in the Rio Olympics through the prestigious Boston Marathon.

Tabal, the three-time Milo marathon national finals winner, was a former member of the national team and even won the silver medal in the Southeast Asian Games.

However, she fell out of favor and has since left the national team.

“My doubters are really the ones who motivated me to train harder,” Tabal said during a press conference launching her training stint in Japan.

Tabal will represent the country in the Boston Marathon after winning her third Milo marathon crown last year.

However, running in the world’s most prestigious race isn’t her only goal as she is trying to get a spot in the Rio Olympics by finishing the event under two hours and 45 minutes, the qualifying time for the Olympics.

Her personal best in the marathon is two hours and 48 minutes, set in her first triumph in the Milo marathon in 2013.

“I can do it. It’s very possible that I can get the qualifying time,” said Tabal.

Tabal’s training in Japan is sponsored by Motor Ace Philippines, which has been shouldering her trips abroad since her departure from the national team in the middle of last year.

It was also Motor Ace that sponsored her trip to Singapore in an event that she was initially invited as the official Philippine representative but was disregarded in favor of two “official” bets from the Philippine Track and Field Association.

Tabal finished fourth in that race and defeated the two official PHL representatives.

Tabal will be joined by her coach Philip Duenas in her Japan stint, her second training stint there.

“I really prefer Japan because I’ve seen how they train there and it’s quite comfortable training with fellow Asian runners,” said Tabal, who trained in Japan in 2014 as part of the Jenesys 2.0 Marathon Youth Exchange Programme.

Aside from Japan, Motor Ace also looked at training camps in Australia and Texas.

“It’s now 80 percent sure that Tabal will be training in Japan for her to get the qualifying time of 2:45. We are just waiting for the letter of endorsement for her to be allowed to train there for two months since Japan normally allows only 30 days for a visa,” said Jonel Borromeo of Motor Ace.

Aside from Tabal, Motor Ace is also sponsoring four other triathletes this year in the Xterra Philippines in Albay on Feb. 7.

They are Tenggoy Colmenares, Tolitz Albina and brothers Jonel and Chipi Borromeo.

Jonel Borromeo also said Motor Ace plans to hold off-road triathlon events this year. (PNA) LAP/EB/MP/EDS