MANILA – Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) long jump winner Janry Ubas tries to get decent finishes in three upcoming tournaments under the World Athletics Continental Tour his bid to qualify for the World Championships.
Ubas will first compete at the Motonet Grand Prix in Lappeenranta, Finland on July 19 and at the 16th Triveneto Meeting Internationale in Trieste, Italy on July 22.
The qualification window for the World Championships, slated in Budapest, Hungary on Aug. 19 to 27, will end on July 29 at the International Stuttgarter Athletics Meeting in Germany.
“I really want to compete in the World Championships. I have to perform well in the three tournaments so I can get a slot in Budapest,” said the 29-year-old native of Misamis Oriental province in an online interview before he left for Finland on Monday morning with coach Dario da Rosas.
Ubas and Da Rosas are members of the national team which participated in the 25th Asian Athletics Championships that concluded in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday.
Ubas landed seventh with 7.98 meters, improving on the 7.95m he registered in bagging the silver medal at the Taiwan Open on May 28.
He won the Cambodia SEAG gold medal in 7.85m in May.
So far, world No. 3 pole vaulter EJ Obiena and hurdles champion Robyn Brown have qualified for the prestigious Worlds.
Meanwhile, Obiena set a meet record of 5.91m in Bangkok, shattering his 5.71m set in 2019.
He eventually took the gold, Saudi Arabia’s Hussain Assem Al-Hizam got the silver at 5.56m, and Japan’s Tomoya Karasawa the bronze at 5.51m.
Obiena has already snared a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics. (PNA)