Obiena sets sights on World Indoors

MANILA, Philippines — Two-time Olympic pole vaulter EJ Obiena, who narrowly missed landing a podium finish at the recent Paris Games, will return to action at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Nanjing, China on March 21-23 next year. He cut short his outdoors campaign last month to heal a stress fracture on the lower back.

Obiena, 28, is in town with his German girlfriend Caroline Joyeux, Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov and 1988 Olympic pole vault gold medalist Sergey Bubka. He leaves with Joyeux on Sunday to go back to training in Formia, Italy while Petrov and Bubka depart next week. It’s Petrov’s first visit to the country and Bubka’s second. Bubka attended the Olympic Council of Asia General Assembly in Manila in 2014 and during the visit, recommended Obiena for an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship to train in Formia with Petrov.

Obiena said his goal remains to win gold at the Olympics and his third attempt will come in Los Angeles in 2028. “If I go to LA, I won’t just participate, I’ll be in it to win gold,” he said. “With all due respect to Sergey, my aim is to become the best pole vaulter ever coached by Vitaly.” Obiena made the tongue-in-cheek remark in Bubka’s presence. Bubka, now 60, has won 10 world championships, aside from an Olympic gold medal, and cleared six meters in 49 competitions. He retired at 38 in 2001. Petrov was his coach since he was 10.

Obiena said coming close to an Olympic medal in Paris will drive him to work harder for LA. “If I didn’t miss that one jump at 5.80 in the final, Emmanouil (Karalis) and I would’ve gotten a bronze each for clearing 5.90,” he said. “And if I cleared 5.95 on my first try, I would’ve taken the silver.” Obiena said Petrov’s trust and confidence made him survive the qualification round to advance to the final.

In the qualification, Obiena failed to clear 5.60 twice and Petrov said to skip a third try and go for 5.70 instead. “I had to ask Vitaly twice if he was sure,” said Obiena. “If I missed a first try at 5.70, that was it. I wouldn’t go to the final.” Petrov said he was faced with a similar do-or-die situation with a world champion and an Olympic gold medalist he coached before. “If EJ tried 5.60 again, it would’ve been just a three-minute interval from his last jump but if he went straight to 5.70, he could rest about 20 minutes after the rotation,” said Petrov. “He changed poles. I knew EJ would clear 5.70 easily.”

While in town, Obiena raised over P2 million in a meet-and-greet event to finance the construction of three pole vault pitches in north Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. He said PATAFA executive vice president and University of Mindanao president Dr. Willie Torres, a former track athlete, will spearhead the effort in Davao. PATAFA president Terry Capistrano is fully supporting Obiena’s initiative. Obiena said in preparing for the World Indoor Championships, he might shift his training camp to the Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub in Imus with Petrov.