MANILA – Christine Hallasgo ended Mary Joy Tabal’s reign as the marathon queen in the women’s category of the 2019 Milo Marathon National Finals on Sunday at the Tarlac City Plazuela in Tarlac.
Hallasgo’s feat that ended the six-year reign of Tabal was a reminiscent of the former’s victory over the latter in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
The new Milo queen proved that her SEA Games gold finish was no fluke after she dominated the marathon in two hours, 52 minutes and 23 seconds, while Tabal had a time of 2:58:49.
“Hindi ko expected matalo kasi idol ko si Joy Tabal,” Hallasgo said. “Siguro naging positibo lang pananaw ko. Kung ano man ang kaya kong ibigay, ginawa ko lahat.”
In the men’s category, Negrense sprinter Jeson Agravante settled for another runner-up finish, three years since ruling the event in Iloilo City.
The Silay City, Negros Occidental-native settled with a third place finish in the 42 kilometer marathon with a time of two hours, 31 minutes and 55 seconds.
Last year’s runner up, Jerald Zabala, ruled the men’s event in a tight finish with Richard Salaño, with the former clocking at 2:31:16 and the latter just 10 seconds behind./PN
