TOKYO Olympic-bound pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena returns to Germany on Saturday to compete in the Jump & Fly International Athletics Meet in Mossingen.
It will be Obiena’s third competition in two weeks after the Gothenburg Athletics Grand Prix in Sweden where he won a gold medal and the FBK Games at the Blankers-Koen Stadion in Hengelo, Netherlands, where he clinched silver behind world record-holder Armand Duplantis.
Obiena traveled to Germany without his pole but had British champion Harry Coppell and his manager Steffen Keil to thank.
“I am so thankful to Harry [Coppell] for bringing my poles over here from The Netherlands,” the 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist told BusinessMirror.
It would have cost 25-year-old Obiena 300 euros if he traveled with his pole.
“I flew into Germany without my poles. I think it would cost me around 300 extra euros if I brought my poles with me,” he said.
The pole vault community in Europe, according to Obiena’s father Emerson, is very cooperative, helpful and honest with each other .
“They [pole vaulters] are a small group in Europe but are always ready to help one another,” the elder Obiena said.
Obiena said his son trained in Berlin before jumping on a train to Mossingen.
“That’s very natural in the pole vault community, they are very concerned with fellow pole vaulters, and they are not taking advantage of each other,” Emerson said.
Obiena won gold medals in Ostrava and Berlin in his pre-Olympic preparations. He cleared 5.70 meters in winning gold in Gothenburg and did 5.80 meters in finishing second behind Duplantis (6.10m) in Hengelo.
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