Obiena in no rush to return to competition amid back injury

MANILA, Philippines -- After barely missing out on a podium finish in the Paris Olympics, Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena said that he will be taking things one step at a time as he bared a back injury that affected his preparations for the Games.

Obiena finished fourth in the men’s pole vault competition behind gold medalist Armand Duplantis, silver winner Sam Kendricks and bronze finisher Emmanouil Karalis.

Both Obiena and Karalis were technically tied as both failed to clear 5.95 meters. The former, though, used up all his three attempts while the latter skipped the height.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Obiena’s advisor, James Lafferty, said that about 10 days before the Olympics, the 28-year-old was affected by an injury on his back.

“What EJ went through in the 10 days leading up to the Olympic Games was quite a shock. He has had a recurring issue on the lumbar part of his spine, where he’s had some issues on the connective tissue, muscle spasming, pain, and the inability to vault,” he said.

“Two years ago, this started and he had a procedure done, which is called a denervation… That denervation was done in 2022, the nerve does grow back, and unfortunately, it grew back at a rate where he started to feel everything again here in 2024,” he added. “So this whole season has been a great inconsistency, having to take days off and having to take medications.”

With a few days before the Olympics, Lafferty said Obiena was even unable to vault and had to fly to Rome to get his back treated.

“The fact that he competed, in my opinion, is amazing. The fact that he came in fourth is beyond amazing. He couldn’t even carry his pole.”

Despite this, Obiena stressed that his injury did not hinder his performance at the Games.

“If I’m being honest, I don’t think it hindered me to perform at least on the day of the Paris Olympics. I don’t think it hindered me to perform,” he said.

“If I’m analyzing everything… I think it did affect me, but not on the competition day. It affected my preparation going in. It affected my consistency. It affected my overall program going into Paris.”

Obiena struggled in the start of the qualifications after faulting in two attempts at 5.60 meters.

After going up to 5.70 meters, he was able to finally clear and got his rhythm.

In the final, Obiena was able to clear his attempts before faulting at 5.80 meters, which ultimately spelled the difference between him and Karalis.

He was also able to clear 5.95 meters, but he could not stick the landing in all of his three attempts.

Asked about his future plans, specifically the Olympics in Los Angeles in four years’ time, Obiena said that he will take it “one day at a time.”

“We’ll see. I’m really taking it one day at a time… The reason why I can’t give you guys the answer you guys want to have is just that I don’t wanna lie. If I don’t truly feel that, if I don’t truly comprehend the sacrifices that I need to do,” he said.

“I don’t wanna be in LA just be in LA. If I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna go all out and freaking win that thing. That’s something I wanna do,” he added.

“We’ll take it one day at a time. One day at a time. I’m competing in a few Diamond Leagues, that’s the idea. But I said, we kinda postponed what exactly is the problem with my back. I need to address that." 

And, ultimately, the goal right now for Obiena is to maintain his no. 2 world ranking. 

“We’ll see. If I feel like how I felt this past week, I think there’s no reason for me to stop and there’s no reason for me to not finish the season and continue fighting for those points.”