Mary Joy Tabal once again proved that hard work and determination can propel oneself to success. Finally making her dream come true, Tabal secured her slot for the Rio Olympics when she finished the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon on Sunday, May 29 (May 30, Philippine time). After falling short in her stint at the Boston Marathon last April, the reigning MILO Marathon Queen was able to make an impressive comeback in Ottawa’s prestigious footrace.
Known as the Great White North’s largest and fastest marathon, the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon is one of two International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Gold Label races in Canada, attracting a world contingent of about 7,000 runners every year because of its flat and fast race course.
Tabal clocked in with the time of 2:43:29, beating the 2:45:00 Olympic qualifying time for the women’s marathon. The 26-year-old Cebuana gained a substantial lead against other competitors, and was able to rank 5th in the female age group, 8th in the overall elite female category and 38th in the overall elite male and female category, out of a total of 4,416 elite participants.
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