SEAG marathon queen Tabal shifts focus to Asiad, Olympics

MANILA, Philippines – After claiming the marathon gold in the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mary Joy Tabal is now gearing up for the 2018 Asian Games in Palembang and Jakarta, Indonesia, and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Tabal, 28, said she needs to go back to Italy later this year to train under her Italian coach Guisseppe Giambrone, who along with her personal coach John Philip Duenas and Japanese mentor Akio Usami, helped her win the SEAG gold.

Part of her plan is also to train in Kenya from February to March next year, which will come months before the Asiad slated August 18 to September 2.

“I have to prepare early because I really want to compete in the Asian Games and the Olympics,” Tabal, a veteran of the 2016 Rio Olympics, said in Friday’s briefing at the Philippine Sports Commission Conference Room in Manila.

PSC chair William “Butch” Ramirez, for his part, said they will do the best they can to support the pocket-sized Guba, Cebu native.

“We will support them because it’s really the President’s vision to help our athletes make it to international competitions like the Asian Games and Olympics,” said Ramirez.

For Tabal to qualify in Tokyo though, she needs to compete in World Cup and Gold Standard events and finish in the top 10 there.

Or, she must make the required time to advance.

In Rio, Tabal qualified by breaching the qualifying mark of two hours and 45 minutes in the Ottawa event last year.

And Tabal said she is confident she can secure a spot in Tokyo.

“With the proper training and support, I’m confident I could make it back in the Olympics,” she said.