ILOILO CITY – Walang nakasabay at nakahadlang sa pakikipagtipan ni Mary Joy Tabal sa kasaysayan ng marathon.

Sa ikaapat na sunod na taon, tinanghal na ‘Marathon Queen’ ang Rio Olympic veteran, at sa pagkakataong ito nakamit niya ang titulo sa bagong marka sa ika-40 taong pagdiriwang ng MILO National Finals dito.

Nakamit naman ni Jeson Agravante ang titulo sa men’s division.

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Tinawid ni Tabal ang finish line sa bagong marka na 2:47:49. ang dating SEA Games champion na si Cristable Martes ang tanging karibal na pinakamalapit sa naisumiteng 03:10:11. Pangatlo si Lizane Abella.

Nanguna si Agravante sa tyempong 2:35:13 laban kina Maclin Sadia (02:35:22) at national player Julius Sermonia (02:37:01).

Kapwa tumanggap sina Tabal at Agravante ng tropeo at P150,000 cash. May karagdagang P250,000 si Tabal matapos sumegunda sa 42K female open category.

Bukod dito, sasagutin ng MILO ang gastusin ng dalawa sa paglahok sa 2017 Ottawa Marathon.

“By sending them to the Ottawa Marathon, we are also giving them a chance to be able to qualify for the Olympics,” pahayag ni Andrew Neri, MILO Sports Marketing Manager.

“The Ottawa Marathon is a race where elite runners can achieve the qualifying standard for the Olympics. We are very happy to provide this opportunity to our champions,” aniya.

Umabot sa 17,000 ang mga kalahok na sumabak sa prestihiyosong torneo na ginanap sa labas ng Manila sa ikalawang sunod na taon.

“I only had minimal training for this race because I have been training and racing so much this year. I was scared of getting injuries and burnout,” sambit ni Tabal.

“However, my coach John Philip Dueñas reassured me that he is confident I have prepared well. I ran today with a relaxed pace and just maintained it. I’m very happy that I won.”

Abot-tainga naman ang kasiyahan ni Agravante sa kauna-unahang panalo sa prestihiyosong karera.

“The closest I came to winning in the Finals was in 2004, where I placed third. I really wasn’t expecting to win because there are so many great runners who joined this race,” pahayag ni Agravante.

“It was a pleasant race with a flat route and I was able to enjoy it very much at a relaxed pace.” He has a few more races lined up for the rest of the year before he starts his preparations for the 2017 Ottawa Marathon.