ERNEST JOHN “EJ” OBIENA won a gold medal in men’s pole vault at the Gothenburg Athletics Grand Prix in Sweden on Thursday, clearing 5.70 meters in his first outdoor competition in almost eight months.
Obiena, 25, beat training buddy and Olympic record holder, Brazilian Thiago Braz de Silva, who settled for the silver medal with a 5.65m effort, way off his Summer Games mark of 6.03m.
Norway’s Paul Haugen Lillefosse and American Cole Walsh each cleared 5.60m, but the Norwegian had less attempt at the height.
“It was EJ’s first outdoor competition. He and the rest of the competitors encountered transportation delays that did not allow for a day’s rest after travelling from Italy, to Denmark, and finally by train to Goteborg,” said Dr. Philip Ella Juico, president of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association.
Obiena is one of nine Filipinos who have so far qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. He has been based at the World Pole Vault Centre in Formia, Italy—where he shares a room with De Silva—since the pandemic struck early last year.
Obiena’s dad Emerson, also a former national pole vaulter, said that his son was frustrated for failing to break or march his personal best of 5.86 meters he achieved last February 12 at the Orlen Indoor Cup in Atlas Arena in Poland. He clinched silver in that event.
“He believed that he could jump his personal best, but he had a hard time adjusting to his other UCS pole,” the elder Obiena said. “His other pole was damaged so he needed to try the other pole. The good thing was he was able to make it in his third attempt.”
Obiena, a gold medalist in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and is currently ranked No. 10 in the world, has a season best 5.80 meters.
Obiena, his dad said, could be skipping getting an anti-Covid-19 vaccine because the Olympics are only 50 days away from the July 23 opening day.
“Certain side effects of getting vaccinated—like feeling weak or fatigue—may hamper his performance,” Emerson Obiena said. “We cannot allow that to happen, especially that we’re in the fine tuning stage now.”
Obiena bagged three gold, two silver and three bronze medals in several competitions in Europe in 2020 and early 2021.
Gymnast Carlos Yulo, who will join Obiena in Tokyo, will also shun the vaccine, according to gymnastics association president Cynthia Carrion-Rollin.
The Tokyo organizers said that vaccination is not compulsory for the July 23 to August 8 Games.
The other Filipino Olympic qualifiers are weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, rower Cris Nievarez, taekwondo jin Kurt Bryan Barbosa and boxers Eumir Felix Marcial, Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Irish Magno.
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