MANILA: Tommy Ros Cuenca, a Filipino-American fashion model and athlete, improved his personal record after emerging second-best American finisher in the men’s division of the Paris Marathon 2024 on April 7, 2024.

The 26-year-old former US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 basketball player outlived high humidity and the uphill terrain in the last eight kilometers of the race to set a personal record (PR) of two hours and 50 minutes.

‘Not the expected time but sometimes you have to take a step back and realize how far you’ve come,’ Cuenca, whose Filipina is mother from Quezon City, said in a Facebook post.

‘1:22:01 through the half, under control, ready for a strong negative split, but… High 60°F weather (18°C), 90 percent humidity, and that last 8KM all uphill got the best of a lot of athletes (myself included). Proud of the way I hung on for dear life and snug a PR along the way,’ he added.

Cuenca, whose mother is from Quezon City, started running career only two and a half year
s ago and he intends to join more international marathons with the hope of qualifying in the Olympic Games.

‘With that said, watch out, I’m only getting started. A lot more to come. We keep dreaming, we keep working, we keep going,’ Cuenca, sponsored by On Running, said.

The New York-based model said among his upcoming prestigious competitions are NYCRUNS Brooklyn Half Marathon on April 23, Chicago Marathon on Oct. 23, and New York City Marathon on Nov. 3 this year.

Ethiopian runners swept the Paris Marathon with Mulugeta Uma winning the men’s category with a time of 2:05.33 and Mestawut Fikir taking home the women’s division title (2:20:45), over three months before the much-awaited Paris Olympic Games.

During the Olympics, the men’s marathon will be held on Aug. 10 followed by the women’s race a day later.

Source: Philippines News Agency