Ubas chases Paris flight

Long jumper Janry Ubas will have to go all out in the 2024 Silk Road to Olympics if he wants to catch the last flight to the Paris Summer Games.

Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) secretary general Jasper Tanhueco told DAILY TRIBUNE that with the 30-year-old Ubas down in the Top 32 ranking of the World Athletics, he has to hit the qualifying standard of 8.27 meters if he wants join pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena in the Summer Games that will be held at the Stade de France.

The Silk Road to the Olympics is set on 28 and 29 June in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

“It didn’t help his ranking because he needs to jump higher at least 7.90m or as much as eight meters to catch up. So, his chance now is to hit the standard, one last time in Uzbekistan,” Tanhueco said.

“He needs to reach the entry standard of 8.27m. Even if there will be withdrawals, he’s a bit far down but let’s see his jump in the last week of June.”

But Ubas seems in good shape.

In fact, he is coming off a morale-boosting win after posting 7.56 meters in the Qosanov Memorial in Almaty, Kazakhstan last Monday.

But the Tashkent meet will be Ubas’ final competition before the qualifying window closes on 30 June as he is currently at No. 42 in the rankings with 1179 points.

The Misamis Oriental native’s best jump was at 8.08m during the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia last year, a national record.

Should Ubas not make it, he will be shifting his focus on the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) from 21 and 30 November 2024.

“Regardless of whether he makes it or not, we’re proud of him. At least we could say na we did support him in his Olympic journey,” Tanhueco said.

“If he can’t make it, this will at least help his preparation for AIMAG this November.”