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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Obiena, Cray, Brown launch world championships bid

Obiena, Cray, Brown launch world championships bid

Published Aug 19, 2023 06:18 am

At A Glance

  • The Philippines launches its campaign in the 2023 World Athletics Championships with Olympian pole vaulter EJ Obiena seeking another historic feat in Budapest, Hungary.

The Philippines launches its campaign in the 2023 World Athletics Championships with Olympian pole vaulter EJ Obiena seeking another historic feat in Budapest, Hungary.

ej obiena4.jpg
Pole vaulter EJ Obiena seeks another podium finish in the world championships. (File Photo)

 

Obiena, ranked No. 3 in the world, starts his bid in the qualifications on Aug. 23 with a goal of making into the finals – and on the podium once again – on Aug. 26.

The Asian record holder bagged the historic bronze medal in last year’s edition in Eugene, Oregon behind world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden and American Chris Nilsen.

But the 27-year-old Obiena is going into the competition with more confidence and morale boost, having breached the elusive 6-meter mark in the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway last June and briefly taking over the world No. 2 spot late in July.

As expected, Obiena would be facing some of his fiercest rivals that include Duplantis, Nilsen, Americans KC Lightfoot and Sam Kendricks and Australian Kurtis Marschall, to name a few.

Meanwhile, two other Filipinos are also seeing action in the global event with Olympian Eric Cray and Asian champion Robyn Brown plunging into action in the men’s and women’s 400-meter hurdles, respectively.

Cray, a former Asian champion and multiple Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, will be the first to go into battle in the Heats on Sunday, Aug. 20, where he seeks a spot in the semifinals slated Aug. 21. The finals are scheduled for Aug. 23.

This would be the second time that Cray would be competing in the Worlds after seeing action in the 2013 edition held in Moskva, Russia. He also competed in the same event, but failed to advance after getting disqualified due to a false start.

At 34, Cray has been trying to defy Father Time and managed to do so after retaining his SEAG crown for the sixth time in Cambodia last May.

Fellow Fil-American Brown, meanwhile, will vie on Monday, Aug. 21 for a spot in the semis on Aug. 22 and the finals on Aug. 24.

Brown, a national record holder, is coming off a morale-boosting performance at the Asian Championships in Bangkok, Thailand last month where she bagged the gold medal and became the first Filipino female athlete to win in the tournament since long jumper Marestella Torres in 2009.

Related Tags

Robyn Brown World Athletics Championships Eric Cray EJ Obiena
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