Former Philippine marathon king Cresenciano Sabal proved again that he is still capable of ruling the field as he bested 6,000 foreign and local runners in the regional elimination leg of the 33rd National Milo Marathon held here on Sunday.
The 30-year old Sabal posted a time of 1 hour, 9 minutes and 42 seconds to win the 21-kilometer race that also attracted world-class foreign triathletes.
“A lot of self-discipline and preparation went into my winning the gold medal today,” Sabal said after the race.
“It pays a lot if you prepare hard and persevere,” said the Army officer, who first earned his Milo Marathon title in 2005.
Sharing Sabal’s triumph was veteran triathlete Bella Bayliss of Great Britain who posted a time of 1:19:39 to win the gold in the women’s division.
Other winners in the Subic elimination race were: Bernardo Desamito Jr. (Phils.), with a time of 1:10:47 to bag the second place in the men’s division; James Cunnama (South Africa), 1:11:19, third; and Crifrankreadel Indapa, 1:12:50, fourth place.
In the women’s division, the winners were: Erika Csdmar (Hungary), 1:23:13, second place; Angel Naeth (Australia), 1:27:14, third; and Monica Torres (Philippines), 1:27:28, fourth place.
The winners will again try to outrun other competitors in the national finals of the Milo Marathon in Metro Manila on October 4.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Feliciano Salonga, who flagged off the marathon participants on Sunday, said that the Milo Marathon is just one of the many sports events regularly held in Subic Bay.
“Subic Bay is actually not only the best tourist destination in the country, but it is also a favorite place of athletes for their training,” Salonga said.
He added that organizers of local and international sports events are choosing Subic more than any other place in the country because of its superb environment and world-class facilities.
“Subic is actually a sports haven now and soon will be the region’s sports center,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rolen Paulino, the Milo sports director for the Subic Bay-Olongapo area, said that most of the winners in major races now were foreigners who have trained in Subic.
“That I would like to emphasize, puro foreigners ang nanalo and all of them have been training in Subic,” Paulino said.
This only proves that Subic is already an international sports center, Paulino added.
According to race records, of the top nine top finishers in the female division, five are foreigners who have trained in Subic under Coach Melvin Fausto. These include Bayliss, Csdmar, Naeth, Maki Nishiuchi of Japan (6th), and Lucie Zelencova, who placed eighth.
In the men’s division, of the top 10 runners, four were foreigners, namely: Cunnama, Indapa, Stephen Bayliss of Great Britain (7th), and Hiroyuki Nishiuchi of Japan, who placed ninth in the race. (SBMA Corporate Communications)
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