EJ’s order of battle

A plan has been laid out for World No. 13 pole vaulter EJ Obiena to regain his once-lofty standing on the global stage and it leads up to the Nagoya Asian Games in September. Obiena, 30, is deep in training at the Centro Preparazione Olimpica in Formia, Italy, focusing on reps while getting his body ready for the outdoor season. PATAFA secretary-general Jasper Tanhueco said there are 10 competitions lined up for Obiena before the Asian Games. The schedule lists June 7 in Stockholm (Diamond League or DL), June 10 in Oslo (DL), June 16 in Ostrava (Gold Tour), June 21 in Hengelo (Gold Tour), June 26 in Paris (DL), July 14 in Budapest (Gold Tour), July 18 in London (DL), Aug. 21 in Lausanne (DL), Sept. 4-5 in Brussels (DL Final) and Sept. 13 in Budapest (World Athletics Ultimate Championships). 

DL is an annual series of track and field competitions that started in 2010. This season, there are 14 DL legs before the Final. Obiena will participate in five of the 14. Prize money for DL leg winners is $10,000-20,000. DL Final winners will receive $30,000-60,000. Athletes earn points from the 14 legs to qualify for the Final with the top six in men’s pole vault advancing.

The Gold Tour is the highest level of competition on the World Athletics Continental Tour. Obiena will compete in three of the 11 Gold Tour jousts. The World Athletics Ultimate Championships will be introduced in September, conceived as a biennial event featuring top-ranked athletes. Winners will receive $150,000. World No. 1 pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis is the Ultimate Championships ambassador. Only the top eight vaulters will join the Ultimate Championships, based on world rankings, 2025 world champion, 2026 DL winners and 2024 Olympic champion. Obiena hopes to be in the elite group. Obiena started the year competing in nine meets before the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland, last March.

He took third in Dusseldorf, first in Cottbus, fifth in Caen, first in Tianjin, third in Karlsruhe, fourth in Paris, sixth in Lievin, sixth in Torun, first in Berlin and ninth at the World Indoors. His best jump was 5.78m. In contrast, Duplantis participated in only two competitions before the World Indoors. Obiena said with his back fully recovered, he went for quantity and did 10 competitions in three months. But he hasn’t competed since the World Indoors, opting to rest, recover and ger stronger. “Ideally, I’ll just do the Diamond Leagues but with my situation, probably a few more competitions I would do,” he said. His calendar shows 11 meets in four months this outdoor season with lots of room to recover in between. For instance, he’ll jump only twice in July and once in August. PATAFA president Terry Capistrano recently visited Obiena, Ukraine coach Vitaly Petrov and physiotherapist Christian Ferdinandi in Formia. “Everyone’s upbeat,” said Capistrano. “We all know what to do moving forward as far as the direction is concerned. Everyone’s on the same page.”