PHNOM PENH—He waited eight long years for a SEA Games’ gold. In the Cambodia edition of the games on Tuesday at the Merodok Techno Stadium here, Janry Ubas was finally ripe for athletic glory.
Preserving his strength for the final event of decathlon (1500), where he was in the running for a silver, the 29-year-old Ubas leaped to a games’ best 7.85 meters in the long jump finals right in his first attempt to capture his first-ever Southeast Asian Games’ gold after eight years of trying.
“Si-necure ko lang po ‘yung first jump ko, kailangan mataas ‘yung talon ko kaagad, kasi crucial sa isang event ko na decathlon. May tatakbuhin pa ako sa 1500, kaya kinuha ko na agad ‘yung best ko sa first jump, ‘yung tipong pang-gold na talaga,” said Ubas, who began competing in the SEA Games in 2015 in Singapore.
The tactical and even logical move of letting it all out in his first jump bore fruit as Ubas was able to fend off the leaps of eventual runner-up, Vietnamese Tien Trong Nguyen’s 7.66 and third placer, Indonesian Sapwaturrahman’s 7.62.
Ubas actually showed a glimpse of his new-found leaping prowess when he set a new SEA Games’ and Philippine record of 8.08 meters in the long jump event of the decathlon on Monday, becoming the first Filipino to go over 8 meters.
Strangely, Ubas hardly looked like a man who was ready to quit the sport, what with all the runner-up finishes that may have sapped his winning drive dry.
“Dati, parang ayaw ko na, pero ngayon, nagbago na, gusto ko na ulet mag-training araw araw,” Ubas said.
Indeed, winning cures everything. Especially if it’s as sweet as Ubas’.