SOUTHEAST Asian Games long jump king Janry Ubas is all geared up for the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok hoping not only to make the podium but to achieve the Paris Olympics grade.
But he has to work double hard—his personal best of 8.08 meters is short of the Olympic qualifying mark of 8.27 meters.
“I really need to condition myself,” Ubas told BusinessMirror during a break in training at the PhilSports oval in Pasig City on Thursday. “Sometimes it happens in an instance during a competition when you can jump so far, but sometimes it doesn’t happen.”
Ubas knows that pretty well. He made 8.08 meters in decathlon where he settled for a silver medal, but got to 7.85 meters, enough to win gold in long jump.
The 29-year-old from Misamis Oriental said he’s motivated by world No. 3 and Asian record holder Ernest John “EJ” Obiena, who became the first Filipino to qualify for Paris when he made the men’s pole vault qualifying mark of 5.82 meters in Stockholm just days ago.
The Asian championships are set July 12 to 16 in the Thai capital.