ILAGAN, Isabela.– Still not in top shape following a knee injury, comebacking Fil-American pole vaulter Natalie Uy will take a cautious approach when she competes in her pet event in the ICSTI Philippine Athletic Championships at the Ilagan Sports Complex here on Saturday.
“I injured my knee in December, so I was out January and February. I am just getting back so I won’t go with my usual full approach,” said Uy, who tore the posterior cruciate ligament on her left knee following a bad fall.
“It is a good thing that there was no fracture so the PCL healed quickly,” added the comely athlete, who will shorten her strides to 10 from the usual 12 to 14 on the runway in the same competition where she made her national team debut in 2019.
Uy competed in her first Southeast Asian Games in the Philippine edition in December 2019 at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium in Capas, Tarlac, capturing the gold medal in a new SEA Games record of 4.25 meters.
She will be up against fellow Fil-Am Alyanna Nicolas, a bronze medalist in the Vietnam SEA Games last year, who vowed to give Uy a run for her money.
Uy, whose personal best is 5.30 meters, said she is determined to reclaim her pole vault crown in the Cambodia SEA Games in May, after which it will be wedding bells as she marries her boyfriend, Sam Rego, immediately after the meet.
She said that she missed the Vietnam Games because of “unfortunate circumstances,” declining to reveal further what they were.
Now training under noted pole vault coach Hunter Arnold in Atlanta, Georgia, Uy said she is determined to rekindle her Olympic dream.
“I will be competing in the Asian athletics championships in Pattaya, Thailand in July since it is a qualifying competition for the Paris Olympic Games,” Uy said.
She acknowledged the challenge is daunting because the Olympic qualifying height for the women’s pole vault is 4.73 meters, or 43 centimeters off her current best.
