Filipina marathon icon Tabal tells young athletes: It’s okay to experience failure

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – As recording artist Mike Shinoda, as Fort Minor, said in his song, the recipe to 100% reason to remember the name is 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure and 50% pain.

More than teaching children who are aspiring to be world-class athletes to succeed, it is also important to teach them to experience failure and defeat at an early age, Olympian Mary Joy Tabal said. 

Tabal, the first Filipina to qualify for the 2016 Olympic marathon in Rio de Jainero, Brazil, stressed that it is necessary for kids in their formative years to know how important failure is in their path to greatness. 

At the sidelines of the Milo Active Pilipinas 2025 launch here, Tabal told reporters that this realization is “the most important thing” for the youth. 

“Pinaka-importante iyan, kasi we can always compare sports to life. Kasi as an adult, we experience a lot of challenges, everyday nakikibaka tayo, but hindi sa lahat ng panahon panalo tayo sa buhay. So habang bata pa lang, tinuturuan na natin sila na normal lang talaga mag-fail, normal lang hindi muna mag-success,” she told reporters. 

“It takes time to achieve something, you have to work for that. So from there on, sa sports pala, pag-i-compare mo, when they get to be challenged kung ano yung mga magyayari nila in the future, at least nakikita lang sarili na it's just the same with sports, na hindi mo agad makukuha yung top, hindi mo makukuha agad yun,” she added.

Tabal bared that before, she laughed at the idea of competing in the Olympics because of her diminutive built and her roots in Cebu. 

But she bared that she never gave up and just tried to work on making it far despite hurdles.

“May pagdadaanan ka, and then you have to work for that, kailangan committed ka to getting what do you want yourself to be at the finish line. So from there pa lang, alam na nila kung paano nila ipanalo yung life nila,” she said. 

“Yung gusto nila sa buhay na habang bata pa lang, alam na nila na normal lang matalo, and then the importance of how to get back up again, and try again, na okay lang ulit-ulit,” she added.

“Though it's really impossible, but it will be an impossibility iyan kung hindi mo susubukan. So why not try? Just do. Subukan mo. Kung nakaya ng iba, kakayanin ko rin. So make it as an inspiration. Hindi siya overnight success. Marami ka talagang pagdadaanan. But kailangan mo lang talagang ilagay sa heart kung ano talaga yung mga gusto mo ma-inspire.” 

The 35-year-old, however, still underscored how crucial it is for the youth to enjoy sports.

“Importante lang, they get to enjoy sports, kasi wag masyadong maglagay ng too much pressure, especially the parents, wag masyadong pressuring yung mga bata na ganito agad,” she stated.

“Importante sa kanila is ma-enjoy muna nila yung sports, ma-enjoy nila na may mga kalaro sila, ma-enjoy nila na ano ba yung mga nakukuha nila sa sports na pwede nilang dalhin talaga, hanggang sa lumalaki na sila.” 

The Milo Active Pilipinas is a nationwide campaign that is “designed to energize and inspire Filipino families to lead an active lifestyle.” 

This year, Milo is targeting three million Filipino children as part of the program, which “brings sports clinics, grassroots programs, and inclusive activities closer to more communities, aligned with the Department of Educations’s “Sports for All” policy.” 

Two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Jamie Lim was also present in the launch. 

There, Lim bared of the time that when she was starting her karate career in one of Milo’s summer camps when she was six years old, she had a hard time winning in her competitions. 

But like Tabal did, Lim did not give up and used her defeats as lessons. 

“It's everything to me because I feel like when you're young, that's when you learn values. That's when they learn things. And that's why I have the confidence that I have now,” she said. 

“And I believe that I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it and believe in myself. So with that, I try to do greater things and it allows me to actually try and go for it,” she added. 

“So learning [failure] at a very young age is crucial and important. And at the same time, being active and having a healthy lifestyle. So it's a win-win. Mindset and also physically, they're gonna learn it.”

Tabal, now the head of the Mandaue City Athletics and Sports Development Office, underscored that she is happy with the launch of Active Pilipinas in Mandaue, saying that they will be able to reach more kids with the program. 

“We're very happy and very glad kami na dito munawa sa Mandaue City. Parang ano siya, getting closer to us, sa mga bata dito sa Mandaue City. And because we've been partnering Milo also with our grassroots program, na nilaunch namin kasi parang mas lumalaki yung sports community namin dito sa Mandaue City,” Tabal said. 

“So it's more on getting us more encouragement and inspiration dito ginawa yung launching na Milo Active Pilipinas sa Mandaue City, getting the kids then to be informed na may mga clinics and sports programs si Milo na kahit sino pwedeng maka-access nun.”