FORMER Davao City’s bemedaled tanker and triathlete Mary Pauline Fornea will don the country’s colors anew for the first time in the upcoming 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games that the Philippines is hosting this year.
The 25-year-old, who is currently based in the USA as a foreign schooling cadet of the Philippine Military Academy to the United States Naval Academy taking up double engineering majors, said,”Opo, first time ko po Maam, ultimate childhood dream ko po (na sumali sa SEA Games).”
She took a leave from military duties and her studies to join the SEA Games qualifying, placing third in the women’s elite event of the Pilipinas Duathlon Final Leg last July 21 in the country. She also gained a slot in the national team with her impressive duathlon record in the States.
She then trained with the Standard Insurance Duathlon team but she returned to Annapolis, Maryland last August 13.
“I will be training on my own with the guidance from the national team po,” the University of the Philippines (UP) Mindanao alumnus said.
Balancing her military and school duties on top of her SEA Games training would be a tall order for her.
“I expect to maintain my academic grades and military duties while preparing for SEA Games po,” she added.
Duathlon, which is entered in the 30th SEA Games roster of events under category 2, will be held at the Subic Bay Boardwalk, Bldg 229 Area along with triathlon and open water swimming.
Fornea used to dominate city, regional and national age-group and college swimming and triathlon races while she was in Davao City.
She was born in Makati City but completed her elementary education at Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Elementary School in 2005 and her secondary education at Davao City National High School (DCNHS) in 2009. She was a Department of Science and Technology (DOST) scholar while studying at UP Mindanao.