OLYMPIC HOPEFUL. Long jumper Janry Ubas holds the gold medal he won in the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) Philippine Athletics Championships at the Philsports track and field stadium in Pasig City on May 9, 2024. He is trying to qualify for Paris through the standard set by the World Athletics Continental Tour. (Photo courtesy of Radyo Pilipinas)
MANILA – Top Filipino long jumper Janry Ubas left for Japan on Saturday to continue his quest for an Olympics berth.
The 11th Kinami Mitchitaka Memorial Athletics Meet, which starts at the Yanmar Stadium Nagai in Osaka on Sunday, is a bronze category event in the World Athletics Continental Tour.
"Ang goal ko sa Japan ma-hit ang Olympic qualifying standard na 8.27 (meters), or maka-podium para makakuha ng dagdag points ko sa world ranking (My goal in Japan is to hit the Olympic qualifying standard of 8.27 meters, or to be on the podium to get more points in the world ranking)," said the 30-year-old Ubas, who hails from Villanueva town in Misamis Oriental.
The qualification window for Paris is from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Athletes can qualify through the entry standard approved by World Athletics, or the world ranking.
Ubas is coming off a victory at the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) Philippine Athletics Championships on Wednesday, where he registered 7.83 meters.
He won the gold medal (7.58m) at the Singapore Open last month and got the bronze (7.61m) at the Hong Kong Athletics Championships last week.
Ubas, who joined the national team in 2015, posted 7.85m to win his first gold medal in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia. (PNA)
