SECOND BEST. Fil-Am fashion model and athlete Tommy Ros Cuenca becomes the second-best American runner in the Paris Marathon 2024 on April 7, 2024. Cuenca also set his personal record after finishing the race in two hours and 50 minutes. (Contributed photo)
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 years 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. (PNA)
