WITH time running out, the Philippine Olympic Committee will most likely step in and help marathon queen Mary Joy Tabal make it to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Richie Garcia said this after he informed POC President Jose “Peping” Cojuangco on the status of Tabal.
Representing Cebu City, Tabal clocked two hours, 43 minutes and 31 seconds, to finish eighth overall in the women’s division of the 2016 Scotia Bank Marathon in Ottawa last Sunday and became the second Filipino trackster to hit the Olympic qualifying standard.
The 26-year-old Tabal, who is training on her own and left the national team last December, surpassed the national record, which Jhoann Banayag set in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games at 2:44.2, and the Olympic standard of 2:45.
Her efforts surprised the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association, saying Tabal will need to seek reinstatement with the national team to be able to make it the Olympiad.
“Mr. Juico is reluctant in accepting Tabal. So I asked asked Mr. Cojuangco if we are ready to make her represent the country. He said the POC can recognize her if the PATAFA can’t,” said Garcia.