MADRID, Spain — To maximize his gold medal chances, EJ Obiena plans to tap his connections in China so he could set up training camp way ahead of the pole vault competitions in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Scheduled 23 September to 8 October, the Asian Games is tops on Obiena’s priority list and the 6-foot-2 Manila-born elite athlete swears he has the right formula.
“(But) it would all depend on the scheduling,” Obiena said during a recent video call from his Italian camp.
“If the athletics competitions happen late in the Asian Games, I would love to start camp there. It’s going to be easier. We have good connections there with my friends and we’ll know where to go and where’s the best place to train,” Obiena, ranked No. 3 in the world, said.
A proposed invitational tournament in the Philippines on 20 September is also being looked at but owing to logistics, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen, according to the 27-year-old Obiena.
While equipment, including the runway could arrive in time in the port of Manila, the release date poses big problems, leaving Obiena in doubt whether the event will proceed.
Still, Obiena’s itinerary is fully-stacked before Hangzhou comes calling.
Apart from the Diamond League, the first time the event takes place on American soil, Obiena will also compete in Monaco and the world championships in Budapest in late August.
Meanwhile, Obiena appears to be right on track in his quest to become the first Filipino to make the grade for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Beginning 2 July, the Paris qualifying kicks off and if Obiena clears 5.82 meters, he automatically nails that Olympic berth.
He could actually do just that when he travels to Stockholm this weekend to meet and compete with world champion Armand Duplantis and a bevy of other top vaulters.
A couple of days ago in Ostrava in the Czech Republic, Obiena placed third with a 5.80 effort.
Duplantis was simply out of this world when the Swede-American soared over the bar by doing 6.12 meters to rule the tournament.
