Marathon in Cebu For Seag 2019
Marathon and judo in Cebu in 2019. That’s doable, don’t you think?
In a previous column, I wrote that Peping Cojuangco and his minions can have the 2019 Southeast Asian Games to themselves and leave Cebu out of it, but that stance all changed when Mary Joy Tabal won the country’s first gold medal in this year’s edition.
The runner who is barely five feet tall stood tallest on the day the SEA Games officially opened as she crossed the finish line teary-eyed.
I got to talk to her just hours after she arrived and I got to ask the question I’ve always wanted to ask but didn’t. “Na pressure ka Joy, no?” Asking that question during her training program wouldn’t have been wise as I knew it could add to her already growing pressure.
She admitted that the pressure on her was tremendous--a silver medalist in the 2015 edition who got involved in an offfield drama not of her creation.
But what is important is that she delivered. She won the gold.
And what would make a fitting follow-up to that achievement? A chance to defend her crown at home.
So should the Philippines push through with the hosting of the 2019 SEA Games, why not have the marathon event in Cebu? Just imagine the home crowd that would come out for the Cebuana. We could also host judo, an event that has Kiyomi Watanabe as the three-time defending champion in her weight class.
Watanabe, like Tabal, has been giving back to the Cebua- nos and has been involved in outreach activities she initiated.
Marathon and judo in Cebu in 2019. That’s doable, don’t you think?
That is assuming we are pushing through with the hosting because as early as now, it seems the hosting gig is in peril due to disagreements over--surprise, surprise--money.
There was supposed to be a presentation in Kuala Lumpur but it was canceled. Too expensive I heard and I heard the POC wasn’t willing to shoulder the money. Hmmm. I guess this simply means the handling of the finances of the 2019 should have an Olympic-level transparency and every single centavo must be accounted for.