By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Long jumper Janry Ubas is indeed ripe for the picking after winning his second gold in Europe in less than a week
Determined to join his more popular teammate in pole vaulter EJ Obiena in the World Championships, Ubas ruled the Triveneto Meeting Internazionale in Trieste, Italy on Saturday, July 22 (Sunday in Manila).
The reigning Southeast Asian Games champion soared to a distance a 7.72-meter to top the 14-player field, narrowly edging Cuba’s Lester Lescay Gay.
Lescay Gay, who competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, posted 7.71m for the silver medal.
Botswana’s Thapelo Monaiwa bagged the bronze with 7.54m.
It was the second gold medal for Ubas this week after making heads turn in the Motonet Grand Prix in Lappeenranta, Finland with a winning leap and a tournament-best 7.86m.
Ubas and his coach Dario de Rosas end their three-leg competition in Stuttgart, Germany on July 29, a day before the qualification window for the world championship closes.
Ranked No. 53 in the world, Ubas hopes his pair of victories will propel his rankings as only the Top 36 athletes will see action in the worlds slated Aug. 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.
Apart from Obiena, hurdler Robyn Brown has already booked a slot to the Budapest meet.
