Mary Joy Tabal Reinstated by PATAFA

Mary Joy Tabal, who previously beat the 2016 Olympics qualifying cut-off time by clocking 2-hours 43-minutes and 30-seconds at the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon, will now be on her way to Rio de Janeiro after being reinstated yesterday (June 14, 2016) as PATAFA National Team. She will be officially part of our contingent for the Women's Marathon event once the drug/doping test result is out after 10-calendar days.

Mary Joy Tabal at the 2015 SEA Games Victory Party

Official statements were released by PATAFA President, Dr. Philip Ella Juico during the previous days after discussions and meeting with Ms. Tabal and Cebu-based representatives from her major supporter.

Official Statement on Reinstatement of Mary Joy Tabal

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.

Notwithstanding our reservations about Mary Joy's athletic activities and decisions, we strongly feel that it is to her best interest to follow the regimen and program she and her
personal coaches have since adopted when they started aiming for the Olympic qualifying standard all the way to the competition day at the Olympics.

Representation for technical and ministerial concerns, through the designated national coach who will accompany her, prior to and during competition will be the only instance where PATAFA commits to involve itself in her Rio Olympics participation. She and her sponsor will have the liberty to bring her personal coaches to Rio at their own expense.

Below is the official reinstatement letter from PATAFA, addressed to Ms. Mary Joy Tabal:

The whole world will be witnessing the prowess of national Athletes from the more than 200 nations joining the world's biggest sporting event - the 2016 Summer Olympics (Rio 2016), taking place at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 5-21, 2016. Let us all support our Philippine contingents who are all doing their part in bringing pride to the nation.