Tabal readies for Tokyo Marathon 2019
Race PHILIPPINE marathon queen Mary Joy Tabal is bracing for the Tokyo Marathon 2019 in March — the first qualifying race for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“We will start our intensive training next year. We want to break the 2:40 mark,” said Tabal’s coach John Philip Dueñas after his ward won her sixth straight crown in the 42nd National Milo Marathon held over the weekend in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.
Tabal, the first Filipina marathoner to see action in the 2016 Rio Olympics will fly to the Japanese capital in January to acclimatize herself and commence training to achieve the two-hour, 40-minute target.
The qualifying time for 2020 Olympics women’s marathon will be announced a year prior to the event.
Tabal posted a time record of 2:56:31 in her last Milo Marathon.
But it was under her personal-best of 2:41:31 in the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon in Canada and her gold medal-winning
Hilton European Tour Golfer of the Year,” Molinari said after receiving the award in London on Monday.
“So many great names have earned this honour, and I feel very proud to join them. It is an award that means a lot to me, and is a nice way to end a very special year.
“Winning at Wentworth, in one of our biggest events, gave me a lot of confidence for the summer, but obviously winning the Open at Carnoustie, becoming my country’s first major champion, was incredible.
“To then go on to win the Race to Dubai and be part of that European Ryder Cup team in France was amazing. I’ll always look back on this season and be proud of what happened.” time of 2:48:26 in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“We really wanted to get Joy’s best time (in the Milo Marathon). But we checked the area and we had to look for her safety,” said Dueñas.
Tabal explained that she is still recovering from a grueling schedule last year, which included the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Despite a missed target in the Milo race, Dueñas remains upbeat that the 29-year old Cebuana runner will regain her fine form when they move to Tokyo.
“Usually, MJ is getting her best time in a cold weather,” he said.
Dueñas is also optimistic that Tabal will retain her SEA Games crown when the Philippines host the biennial sporting event next year.
“We’re confident that Joy will win in next year’s SEA Games. We are getting her target time.”