Ubas knocks on door

Fresh from back-to-back gold medal finishes in Finland and Italy, Misamis Oriental long jumper Janry Ubas is tantalizingly close to clinching a qualifying slot for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Aug. 19-27. So far, 16 of 36 tickets have been allocated and with each country restricted to a limit of three qualifiers, Ubas might just make it in the homestretch.

World rankings are updated every week and in the latest standings, Ubas was No. 45 with 1,160 points including 90 for breaking into the final and placing seventh at the recent Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok. Adding the scores from his Europe trip, Ubas’ total will move up to 1,280, good for No. 9 assuming other athletes don’t rack up more points. PATAFA secretary-general Edward Kho said the golds from Finland and Italy were worth 60 points each. Ubas could’ve accumulated more points in a Stuttgart, Germany competition on Saturday but withdrew because his Schengen visa had expired. The visa was issued by the Italian Embassy and the duration was 10 days. Ubas and coach Dario de Rosas flew from the Asian meet in Bangkok straight to Helsinki for the Motonet Grand Prix in Lappenrant, Finland on July 19 and the Trivineto Meeting in Trieste, Italy, on July 22. The visa couldn’t be extended to include Stuttgart.

Ubas, 29, has been on a tear since the start of the year. Last February, he was the only Filipino to clinch a podium finish at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Kazakhstan, compiling 5,246 points in heptathlon. At the SEA Games in Cambodia last May, Ubas took the gold in long jump with a distance of 7.85 meters. It was the culmination of a journey that started with a bronze in 2017 and silvers in 2019 and 2021. Also in Cambodia, Ubas set the national long jump record of 8.08 meters in decathlon where he bagged a silver. Ubas also holds the national records in heptathlon (seven events) and decathlon (10 events).

World No. 2 pole vaulter EJ Obiena and 400m hurdler Robyn Brown will represent the country in Budapest. They both struck gold in the last Asian Athletics Championships. Brown, 28, claimed bronze in her pet event at the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games and silver in Cambodia. Then, she hit paydirt in Bangkok to punch a ticket to Budapest. Brown’s younger sister Morgan is a former Philippine football player. Their mother Susan, a nurse, is from Imus, Cavite. A University of Hawaii graduate, Brown is based in Los Angeles.

PATAFA president Terry Capistrano took a leap of faith in sending Ubas to compete in Europe and the long jumper didn’t disappoint, registering 7.86 to rule in Finland and 7.72 to reign in Italy. Among the competitors he beat were from Slovenia, Cuba, UK, New Zealand and Dominica. Kho complimented Ubas and Brown for their hard work in honing their craft. “Janry’s dedication was evident in the PATAFA Weekly Relays last year,” said Kho. “Everything is clear to him in relation to his sport and his goals. That’s why I realized his leveling up is no accident. You can’t be half-focused in sports. Commitment has to be 100 percent. I’m hoping Janry will join EJ and Robyn in Budapest. He deserves it.”