Opportunities to compete in international track and field meets and earn slots in the Paris Olympics will be provided to at least four promising athletes.
Newly Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association secretary general Jasper Tanhueco said this, with six months to go before the Olympiad.
So far, decathlete and long jumper Janry Ubas and Fil-American bet Lauren Hoffman are the most likely candidates to join the country’s top pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena in the Paris meet.
“We got more athletes who can qualify for Paris. We are finding and giving them chance to join tournaments that will give them points. The more athletes who can go to Paris, the merrier it will be,” said Tanhueco.
Tanhueco, a running coach, was appointed by PATAFA chief Terry Capistrano after University of the Philippines professor Edward Kho stepped down.
The 30-year-old Ubas is among four tracksters, who have accumulated enough points in the last 12 months to move up in the World Athletics-supervised Olympic qualification rankings for track and field athletes.
After joining a series of international meets last year, Ubas inched up to within the top 23 list of possible qualifiers to the Olympiad in men’s long jump.
There are already seven athletes, who made qualification in the men’s long jump, after hitting or surpassing the qualification standard of 8.27 meters, while Ubas is among those who are within the world ranking quota.
Because of this big leap in points, Ubas’ 1108 points from last year, became 1171 at the end of the first week of Jan. 2024. He is now no. 20 in the Olympic rankings of the men’s long jump event.
To firmly claim a spot in the Paris Olympics, Ubas needs to maintain his position or move higher in the next six months.
The PATAFA is also looking into the progress of three Fil-Heritage athletes, with Hoffman at the forefront.
Hoffman, who is from Haymarket, Virginia, has a world quota ranking of no. 31, in the women’s 400-meter hurdles.
And there’s also Robyn Brown, also in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, and Spain-based John Cabang in the men’s 110-meter hurdles.