Mark Harry Diones will go toe to toe with reigning champion Muhamad Hakimi Ismail in the men’s triple jump event of the 30th Southeast Asian Games athletics meet.
The 26-year-old Diones has competed against his Malaysian opponent twice this year.
And Diones managed to come up with convincing results when he and Ismail saw action in the first and second legs of the Asian Grand Prix in China last June.
This allowed Diones to have a good grasp of where he is at when he plunged into training over the last two months at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium in Capas, Tarlac.
In the first leg, Diones placed fifth behind Ismail with his leap of 16.27 meters, while his Malaysian foe cleared 16.32 meters for fourth.
He got close again in the second leg when Diones made it to fourth in 15.98 meters, with Ismail taking the bronze in 16.19 meters.
Diones said he liked what’s been happening to him during training, knowing how Ismail will be like during competition.
“Maganda po ang pag-run ko sa training. Pagdating sa laro, palakasan na lang kami ng talon,” said Diones, who is from Libmanan, Camarines Sur.
Thai bet Pritchaya Tepparak will also be back after taking the bronze in the 2017 SEA Games, where Diones was the silver medallist.
Teparrak cleared 16.15 meters for his season’s best performance during the National Army Games in Thailand recently.
