Mangrobang determined to get to race of her life

Kim Mangrobang during her SEA Games triumph —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

Kim Mangrobang may have stamped her class in the 30th Southeast Asian Games last month, but she’s not stopping until she makes it to the Tokyo Olympics, which she considers as the “race of her life.”

After winning golds for the Philippines in the biennial meet, Mangrobang decided to spend quality time with her family, who has been her “inspiration to be the best that I can be.”

Mangrobang is also taking time to do outreach work as she is set to visit elementary school athletes who competed barefoot in Iloilo City.

The young runners caught public attention when they won in the Iloilo School Sports Council track and field meet with nothing but packaging tape wrapped on their feet.

After that, it’s back to work for her.

At 27, Mangrobang, three-time SEA Games gold winner, is one of the country’s best bets in triathlon for the coming Olympics in July.

But she needs to work doubly hard to make the cut. Only 55 men and the same number of women will qualify for Tokyo, and countries like the United Kingdom and the United States usually qualify more than one entry.

An athlete will have to send their 12 best times in International Triathlon Union-sanctioned meets from May 2018 until May 2020, to be considered for inclusion.

Mangrobang has been training extensively in Portugal the past three years and is seeing action largely in European meets.

“That’s the most important race of my life,” Mangrobang said of the Tokyo Games. “Every competition I raced gets me closer to the Olympics.”

The Philippines has never qualified a triathlete in the Olympics and Mangrobang, who hails from Santa Rosa, Laguna, is hoping to make history.

Mangrobang won her second straight individual gold in the recent 30th SEA Games before helping the country top the mixed relay events. INQ