Scripted

EJ Obiena won the third gold for the country hungry for more. Assured with the gold, he vaulted to the jugular and rewrote his meet record to 5.91m. Easy. The height is now muscle memory. Before defending his crown in the quadrennial games, Obiena won nine golds in different international competitions by clearing about the same height. High, but not enough to medal in the one competition that matters, the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles where the currency for the podium finish is at least six meters. He cleared it once before. He should do it again. The higher, the better.

For now Obiena should savor his victory. And relief. It’s not anymore a skywalk in the park, it is now time to wake up. The competition closes in on him. And no, he should not be compared with Carlos Yulo who won two golds. Gymnastics is a multi-event sport with multiple chances for gold. Even his younger brother won bronze. Three medals combined from a family divided.

Again, Yulo should be more circumspect with his social media presence. Unless he is hungry for publicity, good or bad. Or cheap. Only struggling wannabes scream for attention, supposedly not the icon that he is. Well, he must be ecstatic he won the gold missing in his collection. Not just one, but two. Happy too or too happy he shared his engagement with a woman short on fabric. Stop there. Omit the details, especially who are invited or not. Or how much it costs. No couple should publicize the price paid for the wedding, marriage already cost them priceless freedom.

The more he shares his personal life, the more he lures the meanest sports fans to judge. They just did. After falling from the bars and flopping in the vault during qualification, they ruled it served him right for disrespecting and disowning his parents. But the next day he won the floor exercise gold. Finally, the country barged into the gold medal column. Then he vaulted to another gold. Two golds in two days. Was Carlos now twice rewarded for what he did to his parents? Deafening silence.

Then he missed out on a podium finish in the parallel bars. Karma strikes again. See, it is all about how humans interpret incidents and accidents of life. Karma is not real. Drama is. Of life. With all its plot twists and turns. The human race does not live a predestined life. Otherwise, free will becomes myth, humanity just follows a script. Bad for the poor, good for the rich. Who writes, still depends on human interpretation.