AS if 34 anti-doping tests—11 of them administered this year—weren’t enough, Ernest John “EJ” Obiena subjected himself to a polygraph test to prove to the whole world that he’s clean.
“It’s very clear that I am pissed,” Obiena told an online press conference on Thursday afternoon from Dubai, where his supposed to be on R&R from the rigorous indoor and outdoor season that saw him clinching silver at the world championships and gold at the Asian Games.
“The accusation is baseless and it affects me and my coach,” added Obiena, who preferred to skewer his online basher, the wife of a former top pole vaulter from France, instead of keeping his silence.
Jim Lafterty, Obiena’s confidante, arranged the online press conference in his residence in Dubai. They were joined by Obiena’s coach and trainer, Ukranian Vitaly Petrov, who was also a subject of Anais Lavillenie—wife of London 2012 Olympics gold medalist Renaud Lavillenie—bashing in her comment on the Facebook page Vaulter Magazine-Vaulter Club Inc.
“That comment had damaged my reputation that I built for the past few years,” Obiena said.
The comment was deleted Monday after BusinessMirror broke the story in its print and online editions.
Hester duPlessis, a certified South African polygraph examiner, facilitated the test Wednesday morning in Dubai.
“He [Obiena] 100 percent passed the polygraph for the absence of any use of PEDs [performance enhancing drugs] or any banned substances, and he also passed 100 percent both doping and match-fixing test areas within eye detect,” said duPlessis, who has conducted more than 5,000 polygraph examinations in the last 15 years.
All of the in- and out-of-competition tests were under World Anti-Doping Agency regulations. Obiena had to undergo those dozens of tests because he made the podium in 22 of the 24 competitions he took part in this season.
“I know her [Anais], but I never interacted with her,” Obiena said. “We are clean.”
Lafferty said their lawyers are evaluating a potential suit to be filed against Anais Lavillenie which they would potentially file in Paris.
“We are still in consultations with lawyers in Paris,” Lafferty said. “We have to be accountable with our action. EJ has never doped in his entire career. No other athlete has ever taken such exceptional steps to prove his innocence.”