Usami to Tabal: You are ready
Coach Usami says Tabal ready for Rio; Dueñas to fly to Rio
OLYMPIC-bound Mary Joy Tabal is on the final week of training in Japan and is looking physically and mentally ready for the 2016 Rio Olympics, which opens on Aug. 5 in Brazil.
Tabal's Japanese coach Akio Usami, who's an Olympian, assessed that Tabal is now ready for the Summer Games, basing on her performance on the past five weeks in Japan.
“I just need to finish this week's training here in Japan. And after that I will now focus on the conditioning,” said Tabal, who will leave Japan for Brazil on Aug. 2.
The 27-year-old Tabal will get the needed reinforcement in Olympics, as her long-time coach John Philip Dueñas is going to Brazil to accompany and guide her on the conditioning.
Dueñas, however, is not part of the Philip- pine delegation. The national team for athletics has designated coach for the event. Dueñas will be there as a personal coach of Tabal and his trip is funded by Motor Ace-Kawasaki Team.
“I was relieved when Motor Ace-Kawasaki decided to send him because it is a lot different when there is someone who already knows me as an athlete for a long time. The concerns for marathon are different from the concerns of other track and field events,” Tabal said.
Dueñas will be going to Brazil after the Ironman Asia-Pacific 70.3 Championships on Aug. 7 in Cebu.
According to Usami, the main concern for Tabal is the time difference in Brazil. She will have around two weeks to adjust before the women's marathon takes place on Aug. 14.
Usami also instructed Tabal to listen to her body during the run to prevent injuries.
“He (Usami) told me to listen to my body because I have been training so hard and have been exerting too much on my training,” said Tabal. “He also shared with me about his experiences in joining huge races like this and how important is the conditioning for the athlete.”
Tabal has been training at Nippon Sports Science University in the City of Yokohama since last month after she qualified to the Olympics.
Tabal clocked 2 hours 43 minutes and 31 seconds in the qualifying race, ScotiaBank Ottawa Marathon in Canada. She's the first Filipina marathoner to make it to the Olympics and will be the first Olympian from Cebu after 20 years.