Olympian Tabal mounts 4-peat championship, makes history

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BY RHICK LARS VLADIMER ALBAY AND ADRIAN STEWART CO
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ILOILO City – Cebuana Olympian Mary Joy Tabal shattered her own record during the 40th Milo Marathon National Finals held in Iloilo on Sunday to claim a historic 4th consecutive year as the reigning queen of the longest running footrace in the country.

Tabal bested her previous record of two hours and 48 minutes during the 2013 iteration of the 42-kilometer race by clocking in at 2:47.53, nearly 25 whole minutes ahead of her nearest competition.

With the feat, Tabal became the first runner to win four straight championships in the annual marathon.

“I am very happy. I was not expecting this four-peat win. I did not put that in my mind, I just told myself to relax and enjoy the race,” said the 27-year-old Tabal.

Meanwhile, runners from Western Visayas dominated the men’s 42 kilometer category with Bacolod City’s Jason Agravante finishing on top at 2:35.15.

Cadiz City, Negros Occidental-native Maclin Sadia, meanwhile, settled for a second place finish while Julius Sermona of Himamaylan, Negros Occidental landed third place.

The event featured five race categories (42K, 21K, 10K, 5K and 3K), all kicking-off at the Iloilo Business Park and ending at the Iloilo Convention Center. Their routes featured major sites and landmarks in the city – among them the Iloilo River Esplanade and Megaworld Boulevard.

Particularly, the arduous route of the 42-kilometer marathon, which started at 3 a.m. on Sunday, reaches as far as the end of the Iloilo Radial By-Pass Road in Zarraga before snaking back to the Circumferential Road, the Old Iloilo-Capiz Road, and back to Megaworld Boulevard in Mandurriao.

“We are honored to be part of the historic culminating event of the National Milo Marathon’s 40th anniversary. We hope all our runners enjoy the race experience we have prepared for them,” expressed Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.

Iloilo has produced its share of champion runners led by former Milo marathon kings Jimmy de la Torre, Edwardo Buenavista and Herman Suizo./PN
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