CAPAS, TARLAC — The Philippines had a 1-2 finish in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games women’s marathon, Friday at the NCC Athletics Center.
However, it was not the finish that people expected.
Twenty-five year old Christine Hallasgo took down the 42km event, ending Mary Joy Tabal’s reign. Tabal, who won gold in Kuala Lumpur two years ago, took silver.
The enlisted Air Force personnel clocked in at two hours, 56 minutes, and 56 seconds. And she needed to dig deep in the last 12km to win the crown.
“First time ko na mag-medal sa SEA Games. Siyempre, nagdasal ako, nag-focus ako. Kasi noong last lap na po, pangatlo lang po talaga ako. Tapos, tinignan ko lang kung sino ang nauna sa akin. Nag-focus ako na baka maabutan ko,” the 26-year-old native of Bukidnon said.
Indonesia’s Odekta Naibaho was on pace for a podium finish but crumbled as they entered the stadium due to heat exhaustion. She did not finish the race.
For her part, Tabal clocked in at 2:58:49 but dropped to exhaustion as well when she crossed the finish line.
“I was heat exhausted po. I was cramping all over po. It happened during the last seven kilometers,” she said.
Vietnam’s Hong Le Thi Pham finished third with a time of 3:02:52.
For the men’s side, Filipinos Jerald Zabala (2:37:20) and Anthony Nerza (2:39:28) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
2017 silver medalist Agust Prayogo of Indonesia won gold with a time of 2:26:48 while Thailand’s Sanchai Mankhet and Malaysia’s Muhaizar Mohamad completed the podium.
