Cebuana runner reinstated to PH team

MANILA -- Filipina marathoner Mary Joy Tabal has been reinstated to the national team following a meeting with officials of the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association.

This means that she can compete in the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympic in Rio De Janeiro.

Tabal qualified for the Olympics after clocking 2:43:31 at the Scottiabank Ottawa Marathon in Canada last month.

Tabal left the national team last year. But after gaining qualification, she meet with PATAFA officials to discuss her reinstatement.

"We have long wanted to protect Mary Joy and we have questioned her racing schedule and its effects on her ability to sustain steady improvements over time. However, we also recognize she did qualify on her own. So we put our differences aside, we reinstated her, and we have allowed her to follow her own training program, despite our concerns. And we hope for the best in Rio for the nation," PATAFA said in a statement.

Tabal is the first Filipina marathoner ever to qualify to the Olympics.

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