VIENTIANE, Laos — Jho-An Banayag, spent and drained from her dramatic win in the women’s marathon event Tuesday, had to be rushed to the medical clinic at the National Stadium after she started vomiting while inside the doping room.

Banayag was administered first aid by an attending physician before she was allowed to return to the doping room for urine sample.

The scene is not uncommon in marathon where runners are easily dehydrated. But Tuesday’s women’s marathon was no ordinary race.

Banayag, out to improve her bronze finish two years ago in Thailand, winced as she tried to keep pace with defending champion Sunisa Sailomyen of Thailand.

At one point, Banayag was close to quitting, but a group of national cyclists, who followed her and Eduardo Buenavista, egged her on to continue.

After entering the track oval, RP coach Luisito Artiaga was screaming: “Brasuhin mo na! Todo mo na!”

Still several strides behind, Banayag made one superhuman effort to overtake the fading Thai, catching her in the last 20 meters and winning the photo finish.

Banayag crossed the line in 2:46:34 with Sailomyen beside her in 2:46:54.

Artiaga likened the scene to a sprint duel in slow motion.

“Parang zombie na kilos ng Thai. Di na niya alam ginagawa niya,” he recalled.

The win completed a marathon sweep for the Philippines, raising the number of gold medals won in athletics to five with Henry Dagmil favored to retain his long jump title in the afternoon.

“We hope to win more than eight,” said Artiaga.

Christabel Martes, the other Filipina in the field, finished sixth in 3:00:31, her bid dashed by a recurring groin injury.

The men’s marathon had none of the drama.

Buenavista breezed home to victory in 2:21:10.14, missing the Games’ 12-year record by less than a minute.

Yahuza Yahuza of Indonesia finished second in 2:21:56.12 while Cambodia’s Hem Bunting settled for the bronze in 2:25:19.68.

Saddled by a knee injury two years ago, Buenavista’s first attempt in marathon ended with a third place finish behind Indonesian Yahuza Yahuza in Thailand.

Except for his stint in the Standard Chartered international race in Hong Kong last February, the 31-year-old veteran spent most of the year in Baguio for altitude training.

With an eye on the record, Buenavista set a searing pace in the first 20 kilometers where he opened a big lead only to run out of gas in the last two kilometers.

“Naubusan ako. Di nakayanan, kaya nag-jogging na lang ako hanggang sa finish line,” he said.

It was Buenavista’s first gold in marathon and fourth in the Games. He previously competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the long-distance track events.