Obiena, Cray, Brown brace for tough worlds

Armand Duplantis.

By Josef Ramos

“EJ” OBIENA

ERNEST JOHN

JONATHAN PAGAURA will try not to settle for second place this time.

THE inaugural 5150 Triathlon

Dapitan blasting off September 10 promises to be different in big ways with a seasoned Olympic distance triathlon campaigner, a champion golfer and a celebrity heading a subtle field in the premier endurance race stuffed with a weight of history.

Jonathan Pagaura, who finished second in last year’s Sun Life 5150 in his native Bohol, seeks no less than the top spot this time, both in his 26-29 age group and in the overall championship in the Shrine City of the Philippines, which is guarantee- and hurdlers Eric Shauwn Cray and Robyn Lauren Brown bracing for a gargantuan challenge in the World Athletics Championships that start Sunday (Monday in Hungary) in Budapest. For Obiena, the task is to stay or improved on his No. 3 world ranking—with his focus also on improving his Asian and personal best 6.0 meters in men’s pole vault that’s sure to draw the best in the world led by Olympic and world champion and world record holder

For Cray and Brown, an additional target is to make the grade for the Paris 2024 Olympics—Obiena qualified as early as last July 2 with his 5.82 meters at the Diamond League’s BauhausGalan meet in Stockholm, Sweden—on top of making it past the heats in a hurdles field that’s also stacked with the best in the world.

He’s working hard. As always, there are challenges,” Obiena’s personal adviser Jim Lafferty told BusinessMirror on Thursday. “He is prepping and tweaking his technique.”

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It’s the World Championships and hence it’s always important. But let’s bear in mind the real focus is the Paris 2024,” Lafferty said. “Everything we do today is with an eye towards the Olympics.”

Obiena will arrive in Budapest on Monday along with Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov. He and 29 others will vie in the men’s pole vault qualification on Wednesday with the final—featuring the top 12—is set next Saturday.

C ray and Brown qualified for the world championships through the Asian championships last month in Bangkok.

C ray, an eight-time Southeast