Obiena’s weird feeling

Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games pole vault gold medalist EJ Obiena revealed he had a weird feeling after retaining his crown on a rain-soaked track at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium last Tuesday.

“I felt proud that Asian jumping is up and never before was there a competition where we had so many vaulters clearing 5.50m,” said Obiena who bounced back into the top 10 in the latest world rankings. “Guys are jumping higher and the competition is getting tougher. It wasn’t like this three years ago.” In the previous Asiad, only four vaulters jumped at least 5.55m.  This year, eight cleared 5.50m and four soared at least 5.60m. Obiena, 30, said the next Asian Games in Doha is five years away and he’s not sure whether to be back. “I’m taking it a year at a time but right now, I’m feeling great, I›m excited to compete,” he said.

World No. 15 Seifeldin Abdelsalam was tipped to challenge Obiena for the gold but failed to crack 5.60m thrice and crashed out to finish fifth. Two Chinese contenders World No. 18 Li Chenyang, 23 and World No. 38 Jie Yao, 36, made a serious push to dethrone Obiena but couldn’t do it. Yao wound up second and Chenyang, third.

“I told Abdelsalem he’s young, it happens,” said Obiena, referring to the 21-year-old Qatari. “Chin up, he gave a good fight. I respect what he did. He gave his best and is going to get better.”

Obiena said after he failed to clear 5.80m on his second try, there was no hesitation to raise the bar. “I calmed myself and didn’t get too excited,” he said. “I had one jump left and I went for a new Asian Games record. There was pressure because I needed to do it to break back into the top 10. But I knew I could do it. I’ve been there before.”

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Obiena missed 5.75 twice and made it on his third try to squeeze into the final. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, he couldn’t clear 5.60m twice but instead of making a third attempt at that height, went for broke and moved to 5.70m with only one try left to avoid elimination. Obiena cleared it and advanced to the final where he jumped 5.90m to tie Emmanouil Karalis for third but dropped to fourth on countback.

Not flinching in a do-or-die situation is something that Obiena is used to. He’s a master survivor of brinkmanship. Obiena will take his chances on one try to make or break. It’s about believing in what he can do and rising to the occasion. He’s done it more than once and in Nagoya, the encore was spectacular. With his mother Jeanette watching in the stadium, Obiena displayed the heart of a champion and made the country proud.